diff --git a/presidential-actions/2024-12/2024-12-16-a-proclamation-on-the-establishment-of-the-frances-perkins-national-monument.md b/presidential-actions/2024-12/2024-12-16-a-proclamation-on-the-establishment-of-the-frances-perkins-national-monument.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..333e210d --- /dev/null +++ b/presidential-actions/2024-12/2024-12-16-a-proclamation-on-the-establishment-of-the-frances-perkins-national-monument.md @@ -0,0 +1,356 @@ +--- +date: '2024-12-16' +modified_time: 2024-12-16 15:50:44-05:00 +published_time: 2024-12-16 15:50:43-05:00 +source_url: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/16/a-proclamation-on-the-establishment-of-the-frances-perkins-national-monument/ +tags: presidential-actions +title: "A Proclamation on the Establishment of the Frances Perkins National\_Monument" +--- + +            Few Americans have had deeper influence in shaping labor and +social policy in the United States than Frances Perkins.  Perkins became +the first woman to serve as a Cabinet Secretary when President Franklin +Delano Roosevelt appointed her as the Secretary of Labor in 1933. + During the subsequent 12 years, Secretary Perkins played a pivotal role +in constructing the New Deal and helping to guide the country out of the +Great Depression by designing and leading the implementation of sweeping +labor and economic reforms that have made life better for generations of +Americans.  The longest serving Secretary of Labor in United States +history, Secretary Perkins was the architect of many programs and +standards — including a minimum wage, overtime pay, unemployment +insurance, and prohibitions on child labor — that have endured as the +backbone of Federal support for workers and families and continue to +benefit millions of Americans today.  Secretary Perkins chaired +President Roosevelt’s effort to investigate the benefits of social +insurance and then worked to achieve passage of the Social Security Act, +which became one of the most successful programs in the United States to +prevent poverty among older adults.  When the United States and other +nations initially failed to face the horrors of the Holocaust, Secretary +Perkins demonstrated leadership on behalf of immigrants and refugees by +actively working to bring Jewish children and adults from Europe to the +United States to ensure their safety. +     The Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, played a pivotal role in +Frances Perkins’ life and supported her work to deliver lasting +protection and benefits to American workers and families.  The rural +setting of the Perkins Homestead on the Damariscotta River was the place +she felt most at home.  She spent her childhood summers there and +returned frequently for respite throughout her career.  Continuously +owned by her family for over 260 years, the Perkins Homestead remains +much as it was during Secretary Perkins’ lifetime, including the +buildings, structures, gardens, and paths where she spent substantial +time throughout her life.  The core area contains historic structures +including a brick house, an attached barn, a gravel driveway, a garden, +and portions of a stone wall.  The surrounding landscape of the Perkins +Homestead contains additional portions of the stone wall, an ice pond, +walking trails, a family cemetery, foundations of the 18th and 19th +century Perkins Homestead buildings, and remnants of a pre-Revolutionary +era garrison.  Visitors to the Perkins Homestead today can wander +through these places where Perkins returned time and again during her +Government service.  They can view the stone wall where she sat +listening to the radio on September 1, 1939, when it was reported that +the Germans invaded Poland, prompting her to rush back to Washington, +D.C., to assist the President.  Preserving the core area of the Perkins +Homestead and its associated historic objects will ensure that current +and future generations have the opportunity to learn about Secretary +Perkins’ foundational contributions to the Nation’s social and labor +policy through the place that helped shape her as a person and support +her throughout her extraordinary career. +     Frances Perkins was born in Boston as Fannie Coralie Perkins in +1880.  At the age of 25, she changed her name to Frances Perkins, which +she used for the rest of her life, even after marriage.  She graduated +in 1902 from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, where she credited +a class trip to a nearby mill with inspiring her early interest in +improving working conditions for women and children. +     After college, Frances Perkins worked with social service +organizations in Chicago and Philadelphia, including settlement houses +for poor and unemployed people and an organization to support and +protect immigrant and Black women and girls from labor and sexual +exploitation they faced upon arrival in these cities looking for work. + These experiences deepened her resolve to help reduce poverty and +support the working poor. +     In 1911, while employed at the New York City Consumers’ League, +Frances Perkins heard the sirens of fire engines racing to put out +flames that had engulfed the nearby Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.  +Running to the site of the fire, she witnessed the horrific scene of +workers, mostly young women, jumping to their deaths after being locked +in the factory.  In total, 146 people died in the fire –- including many +immigrant workers.  Perkins later cited that tragic day as the impetus +for policies that would become central to the New Deal. +     Perkins’ subsequent work at the New York Factory Investigating +Commission, where she investigated and advocated for worker health and +safety reforms, led to 33 new State laws that improved worker safety, +workplace sanitation, and working conditions; provided workers’ +compensation; and placed limits on child labor.  These were some of the +first workplace health and safety standards in the Nation, and they +became models that other States and the Federal Government adopted. +     In 1919, Perkins was named to the New York State Industrial +Commission, making her the first woman appointed to serve in a New York +State government administration.  In 1929, newly elected Governor +Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked Perkins to become the State’s Industrial +Commissioner and oversee the labor department.  As the United States +careened toward the Great Depression, Perkins used her position to shine +a national spotlight on rising unemployment while also helping workers +in New York and elsewhere by connecting them to jobs through a State +employment service and inviting surrounding States to participate in an +unemployment insurance system.  Her early warnings regarding the depth +of the Nation’s economic problems and her work to develop solutions +established Perkins as a national leader in the 20th century employment +and labor reform movements. +     When President Roosevelt formally asked Perkins to join his Cabinet +as Secretary of Labor, she responded by saying that if she accepted the +position, she intended to execute an ambitious plan of action that +included establishing maximum hours and minimum wages, ending child +labor, developing unemployment relief through public works, providing +unemployment insurance, and creating an old-age pension and a national +health insurance program.  After detailing her plan, she asked if +President Roosevelt was sure he wanted this list of policies put in +place, explaining that, “you won’t want me for Secretary of Labor if you +don’t want those things done.”  President Roosevelt responded that he +would back her; he had promised the American people that he would +improve their lives, and he intended to keep his promise. +     At a time when few women were in leadership positions and just 13 +years after the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, Frances +Perkins became Secretary of Labor.  During an unprecedented 12 years in +the position — from 1933 to 1945 — Secretary Perkins achieved +hard-fought social and economic reforms, often over vocal opposition and +personal attacks from critics.  She summarized her work in a five-page +letter to President Roosevelt, describing the reforms as “a turning +point in our national life — a turning from careless neglect of human +values and toward an order . . . of mutual and practical benevolence +within a free competitive industrial economy.”  The list of +accomplishments detailed in her letter encompasses many programs and +laws that continue to undergird the Nation’s economy and social safety +net, including establishing Social Security and contributing to the +development of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Walsh-Healey Public +Contracts Act.  She also helped create millions of jobs across the +country through the novel Civilian Conservation Corps and Public Works +Administration.  +     As Secretary of Labor, Perkins often supported the rights of +workers to organize unions and to negotiate with employers through +collective action, laying the foundation for the rebirth of American +labor –- including through helping write recovery legislation that +provided a right to collective bargaining and laid the groundwork for +the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (also known as the Wagner +Act).  She used her post not only to advance labor protections in +national policy, but also to call personally for workers’ fair treatment +and access to the halls of power.  She persuaded President Roosevelt not +to deploy Federal troops to quell the 1934 San Francisco General Strike, +and instead encouraged the parties to settle their differences, which +was accomplished within a week, and she frequently advised President +Roosevelt to help resolve contentious strikes for the benefit of +workers.    +     At the close of her time at the Department of Labor, Perkins had +accomplished nearly all of the items in the ambitious plan she laid out +for President Roosevelt when he asked her to serve, but she lamented the +one exception:  health care benefits for American workers.  Historians +have also noted that, because of deep racial inequities and injustices +of the time –- including segregation -– the benefits of the New Deal +were not available to all Americans initially.  +     When her time as Secretary of Labor concluded, Perkins continued in +public service as President Harry Truman’s appointee to the United +States Civil Service Commission, a post she held from 1945 until 1953.  +She then became a lecturer at the New York State School of Industrial +and Labor Relations at Cornell University, a role she held until her +death in 1965.  +     When Secretary Perkins died, the Secretary of Labor at the time, W. +Willard Wirtz, recognized her legacy as central to the New Deal, stating +that “every man and woman in America who works at a living wage, under +safe conditions, for reasonable hours, or who is protected by +unemployment insurance or social security is her debtor.”  The final +resting place of Secretary Perkins is near her daughter, husband, +sister, parents, and grandparents in the Glidden Cemetery, located a +half mile north of the Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine.  +     Throughout Perkins’ life and career, the Perkins Homestead served +as a place of rejuvenation and reflection, including during her time as +Secretary of Labor.  Throughout her working life, she continued the +family tradition of summer visits to Maine, often living there with her +daughter from August into September.  Perkins and her sister became +joint owners of the property in 1927 and it stayed within the family +until 2020.  Perkins wrote about how the woods surrounding the brick +house and the shoreline at the Perkins Homestead’s edge restored and +comforted her, and how the brick house provided a place for her to relax +and to recover from her work as Secretary of Labor. +     The Perkins Homestead, originally over 200 acres, was settled by +Perkins’ great-great grandfather in the early 1700s.  A mid-18th century +garrison existed on the property that was in use for 3 years during the +French and Indian War.  +     The core area, on the west end of the Perkins Homestead, has a +brick house built by the Perkins family in 1837 along with a connected +barn.  The two-story home is constructed of bricks manufactured on site +at the family brickyard.  The east end of the Perkins Homestead borders +the Damariscotta River and has a family cemetery, foundations of the +18th and 19th century Perkins Homestead buildings, the remains of the +brick kilns, wharves, and a clay pit from the 19th century brickyard, as +well as the remains of the garrison.  Agricultural fields, pastures, +woodland, and planted trees connect the two sides of the Perkins +Homestead. +     The National Park Service first documented the Perkins Homestead +through the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1960, while Secretary +Perkins still occupied the home.  In 2009, the National Park Service +listed the Brick House Historic District on the National Register of +Historic Places; the Brick House Historic District included the brick +house, adjacent structures, and the wooded and agricultural lands +extending to the shoreline of the Damariscotta River.  In 2014, the +Secretary of the Interior designated this same 57 acres as the Perkins +Homestead National Historic Landmark, recognizing the property’s +historic importance and nationally significant association with Frances +Perkins. +     The Perkins Homestead contains several objects that reflect +Secretary Perkins’ lifelong commitment to supporting and protecting +American workers.  Hanging above a doorway in the brick house is a +custom “No Smoking” sign that reflects the lasting influence the +Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire had on Perkins.  It reads:  “Please Do +Not SMOKE In Any Part of This Building.  DANGEROUS.  F. Perkins.”  The +brick house also includes Secretary Perkins’ Award for Distinguished +Service, which the Department of Labor presented to her on March 4, +1963, on the occasion of the Department’s 50th anniversary.  The Award +citation reads:  “For her courage in entering an arena previously +considered a masculine domain; for her strength in guiding the +Department through a dozen years of domestic stress and international +travail; for her spirit in waging the good fight for good objectives; +and finally, for herself.”   +     Conserving the Perkins Homestead will ensure that the family home +and surrounding landscape that were a constant source of support for +Secretary Perkins will remain protected and accessible in perpetuity for +the benefit of all people to learn about her life, her unparalleled +contributions to labor and social policy that would eventually benefit +generations of Americans, and core principles at the heart of the New +Deal that she championed:  economic security and dignity for workers. +     WHEREAS, section 320301 of title 54, United States Code (the +“Antiquities Act”), authorizes the President, in the President’s +discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, +historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or +scientific interest that are situated on land owned or controlled by the +Federal Government to be national monuments, and to reserve as a part +thereof parcels of land, the limits of which shall be confined to the +smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the +objects to be protected; and +     WHEREAS, the Perkins Homestead was designated a National Historic +Landmark on August 25, 2014, establishing its national significance as +the ancestral home and lifelong summer residence of Frances Perkins, the +first woman to serve as a Cabinet Secretary and one of our Nation’s most +influential and effective public servants whose legacy includes the +historic New Deal; and +     WHEREAS, the Frances Perkins Center has been managing and +preserving the approximately 57-acre Perkins Homestead, including the +objects identified above and additional archives and collections +illustrating the historic value of this site, and has expressed support +for inclusion of the Perkins Homestead in the National Park System; +and +     WHEREAS, the Frances Perkins Center has donated to the Federal +Government for the purpose of establishing a unit of the National Park +System fee interest in the core area comprising approximately 2.3 acres +of land in Newcastle, Maine, which includes several historic objects +associated with the Perkins Homestead and Perkins’ life located on this +site, including the brick house, the connected barn, and portions of the +stone wall; and +     WHEREAS, in support of the establishment of a national monument to +be administered by the National Park Service, the Frances Perkins Center +has also indicated its intent to develop a partnership with the National +Park Service to help manage, oversee, interpret, maintain, and protect +the Perkins Homestead (including the core area) and the historic objects +it contains as appropriate; and +     WHEREAS, the Frances Perkins Center has indicated an interest in +donating a majority of the remaining approximately 54.7 acres of the +57-acre Perkins Homestead to the Federal Government in the future; and +     WHEREAS, the designation of a national monument to be administered +by the National Park Service would recognize the historic significance +of Frances Perkins and her role in the New Deal, particularly her +contributions to social welfare, safe working conditions, and protection +of workers’ health and well-being, and would provide a national platform +for preserving and interpreting this important history; and +     WHEREAS, I find that all the objects identified above, and objects +of the type identified above within the area described herein, are +objects of historic interest in need of protection under section 320301 +of title 54, United States Code, regardless of whether they are +expressly identified as objects of historic interest in the text of this +proclamation; and +     WHEREAS, I find that the boundaries of the monument reserved by +this proclamation represent the smallest area compatible with the proper +care and management of the objects of historic interest identified +above, as required by the Antiquities Act; and +     WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to preserve and protect the +objects of historic interest associated with the Perkins Homestead in +Maine; +     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United +States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 320301 of +title 54, United States Code, hereby proclaim the objects identified +above that are situated on lands and interests in lands owned or +controlled by the Federal Government to be part of the Frances Perkins +National Monument (monument) and, for the purpose of protecting those +objects, reserve as part thereof all lands and interests in lands owned +or controlled by the Government of the United States within the +boundaries described on the accompanying map, which is attached to and +forms a part of this proclamation.  The monument’s boundaries are +coextensive with the Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark +boundaries, and the reserved Federal lands and interests in lands within +the monument’s boundaries comprise approximately 2.3 acres. +     All Federal lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of +the monument are hereby appropriated and withdrawn from all forms of +entry, location, selection, sale, leasing, or other disposition under +the public land laws, including withdrawal from location, entry, and +patent under the mining laws, and from disposition under all laws +relating to mineral and geothermal leasing.  +     The establishment of the monument is subject to valid existing +rights.  Specifically, the Frances Perkins Center retains reserved +rights to occupy and use the premises; complete preservation, +maintenance, and renovation work; and store and maintain artifacts +currently located in the brick house.  These reserved rights shall +expire not later than 25 years after the date of this proclamation.  +     If the Federal Government acquires any lands or interests in lands +not owned or controlled by the Federal Government within the boundaries +described on the accompanying map, such lands and interests in lands +shall be reserved as part of the monument, and objects of the type +identified above that are situated upon those lands and interests in +lands shall be part of the monument, upon acquisition of ownership or +control by the Federal Government. +     The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the monument through the +National Park Service, pursuant to applicable legal authorities and +consistent with the purposes and provisions of this proclamation.  For +the purpose of preserving, interpreting, and enhancing the public +understanding and appreciation of the monument, the Secretary of the +Interior, through the National Park Service, shall prepare a management +plan for the monument.  The management plan shall ensure that the +monument fulfills the following purposes for the benefit of present and +future generations:  (1) to preserve the historic objects and other +resources within the boundaries of the monument, and (2) to interpret in +its entirety the story of Frances Perkins and the history of the New +Deal, including the impact Perkins had as the first woman Cabinet +Secretary; the complexities of Perkins as an individual and of her +ideas, perspectives, and views; and her role in advancing hallmark +labor, economic, and social reform within the historical and political +context of the early-to-mid 20th century.  +     The National Park Service shall consult with appropriate Federal, +State, and local agencies; local communities; nongovernmental +organizations; and the general public in the region of the monument — +including the Frances Perkins Center and the Damariscotta River +Association — in developing the management plan for the monument, which +shall include resource management, interpretation and education, visitor +access, and services at the monument.  The National Park Service shall +also consult on all aspects of the management plan with the Penobscot +Nation and other Wabanaki Peoples, whose ancestral lands include areas +in Maine near the monument. +     The National Park Service is directed, as appropriate, to use +applicable authorities to seek to enter into agreements with other +entities, including the Frances Perkins Center, to address common +interests and promote management efficiencies, including the provision +of visitor services, interpretation and education, establishment and +care of museum collections, and preservation of historic objects.  +            Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke any +existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; however, the +monument shall be the dominant reservation. +     Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not to +appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature of the monument and +not to locate or settle upon any of the lands thereof. +     If any provision of this proclamation, including its application to +a particular parcel of land, is held to be invalid, the remainder of +this proclamation and its application to other parcels of land shall not +be affected thereby. +     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this +sixteenth day of December, 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-ninth. +  +  +  +                             JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR. diff --git a/rss.xml b/rss.xml index 0653c8e3..2646d3a0 100644 --- a/rss.xml +++ b/rss.xml @@ -8,11 +8,79 @@ The White House Briefing Room - Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:02:23 -0500 + Mon, 16 Dec 2024 17:00:00 -0500 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/ + + + Remarks by President Biden Honoring our Nation’s Labor History and Establishing the Frances Perkins National Monument + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/12/16/remarks-by-president-biden-honoring-our-nations-labor-history-and-the-biden-harris-administrations-work-to-strengthen-americas-workforce/ + + + Mon, 16 Dec 2024 17:00:00 -0500 + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/12/16/remarks-by-president-biden-honoring-our-nations-labor-history-and-the-biden-harris-administrations-work-to-strengthen-americas-workforce/ + + + speeches-remarks + + + + + Statement from President Joe Biden on Shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/16/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-shooting-at-abundant-life-christian-school-in-wisconsin/ + + + Mon, 16 Dec 2024 16:59:13 -0500 + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/16/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-shooting-at-abundant-life-christian-school-in-wisconsin/ + + + statements-releases + + + + + President Biden Announces Key Nominees + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/16/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-80/ + + + Mon, 16 Dec 2024 16:45:00 -0500 + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/16/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-80/ + + + statements-releases + + + + + A Proclamation on the Establishment of the Frances Perkins National Monument + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/16/a-proclamation-on-the-establishment-of-the-frances-perkins-national-monument/ + + + Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:50:43 -0500 + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/16/a-proclamation-on-the-establishment-of-the-frances-perkins-national-monument/ + + + presidential-actions + + A Proclamation on Wright Brothers Day, 2024 @@ -268,6 +336,23 @@ statements-releases </category> </item> + <item> + <title> + Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Senior Advisor to the President John Podesta at American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/12/12/remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-senior-advisor-to-the-president-john-podesta-at-american-geophysical-union-annual-meeting/ + + + Thu, 12 Dec 2024 16:27:21 -0500 + + + https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/12/12/remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-senior-advisor-to-the-president-john-podesta-at-american-geophysical-union-annual-meeting/ + + + speeches-remarks + + Memorandum on the Establishment of the China Censorship Monitor and Action Group @@ -438,90 +523,5 @@ statements-releases </category> </item> - <item> - <title> - Remarks by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the First-Ever White House Conference on Women’s Health Research - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/12/11/remarks-by-president-biden-and-first-lady-jill-biden-at-the-first-ever-white-house-conference-on-womens-health-research/ - - - Wed, 11 Dec 2024 17:45:00 -0500 - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/12/11/remarks-by-president-biden-and-first-lady-jill-biden-at-the-first-ever-white-house-conference-on-womens-health-research/ - - - speeches-remarks - - - - - Memorandum on the Delegation of Functions and Authorities Under Sections 1352 and 1353 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/11/memorandum-on-the-delegation-of-functions-and-authorities-under-sections-1352-and-1353-of-the-national-defense-authorization-act-for-fiscal-year-2024/ - - - Wed, 11 Dec 2024 17:08:55 -0500 - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/11/memorandum-on-the-delegation-of-functions-and-authorities-under-sections-1352-and-1353-of-the-national-defense-authorization-act-for-fiscal-year-2024/ - - - presidential-actions - - - - - Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bernstein - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2024/12/11/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-chair-of-the-council-of-economic-advisers-jared-bernstein-2/ - - - Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:30:00 -0500 - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2024/12/11/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-chair-of-the-council-of-economic-advisers-jared-bernstein-2/ - - - press-briefings - - - - - Message to the Congress on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Global Illicit Drug Trade - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/11/message-to-the-congress-on-the-continuation-of-the-national-emergency-with-respect-to-the-global-illicit-drug-trade-3/ - - - Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:21:16 -0500 - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/11/message-to-the-congress-on-the-continuation-of-the-national-emergency-with-respect-to-the-global-illicit-drug-trade-3/ - - - presidential-actions - - - - - Press Release: Notice to the Congress on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Global Illicit Drug Trade - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/11/press-release-notice-to-the-congress-on-the-continuation-of-the-national-emergency-with-respect-to-the-global-illicit-drug-trade/ - - - Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:20:54 -0500 - - - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/11/press-release-notice-to-the-congress-on-the-continuation-of-the-national-emergency-with-respect-to-the-global-illicit-drug-trade/ - - - presidential-actions - - diff --git a/speeches-remarks/2024-12/2024-12-12-remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-senior-advisor-to-the-president-john-podesta-at-american-geophysical-union-annual-meeting.md b/speeches-remarks/2024-12/2024-12-12-remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-senior-advisor-to-the-president-john-podesta-at-american-geophysical-union-annual-meeting.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b1fb6903 --- /dev/null +++ b/speeches-remarks/2024-12/2024-12-12-remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-senior-advisor-to-the-president-john-podesta-at-american-geophysical-union-annual-meeting.md @@ -0,0 +1,216 @@ +--- +date: '2024-12-12' +modified_time: 2024-12-16 16:29:47-05:00 +published_time: 2024-12-12 16:27:21-05:00 +source_url: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/12/12/remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-senior-advisor-to-the-president-john-podesta-at-american-geophysical-union-annual-meeting/ +tags: speeches-remarks +title: "Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Senior Advisor to the President John Podesta\ + \ at American Geophysical Union Annual\_Meeting" +--- + +Thank you so much Janice, and hello AGU! It’s great to be back here with +all of you. + +We’re coming together at a crucial moment for the future of science…and +the future of our planet. + +We’ve just lived through a year defined by the climate crisis, in every +corner of the world. + +July 22nd was the hottest day in recorded history. 2024 will +be the hottest year in recorded history. + +Just this week, scientists reported that the Arctic tundra is now +releasing more carbon into the atmosphere than it is absorbing. + +The consequences of living on a rapidly warming planet are all around +us…and not just in collapsing coral reefs and melting ice sheets…but in +people’s lives. + +This summer, the city of Phoenix experienced more than 113 straight days +over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. + +This fall, Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed into the southeastern +United States, killing hundreds and cutting off power and water in +communities for weeks. + +The worst drought in decades in southern Africa is putting 20 million +children at risk of malnutrition and even starvation. + +Wildfires and drought are ravaging the Amazon and the Pantanal, +destroying Indigenous communities and burning up an area the size of +Switzerland. I saw the impacts myself when I flew over the Brazilian +Amazon with the President last month. + +In September, supercharged Typhoon Yagi killed hundreds and caused $16 +billion in damages from the Philippines to Myanmar. + +Catastrophic floods in Spain poured a year’s worth of rain in a single +day in October. + +When all of these disasters are happening more frequently and with more +intensity, we know something is terribly wrong with our planet.  + +It’s the climate crisis. It’s caused by humans. And it’s very real—and +the scientific community has been telling us so for more than fifty +years. + +Now is the moment when we have to go big and move forward on climate +action—not backward. + +But starting next month, we will again have a President whose +relationship to climate change is captured by the words “hoax” and +“drill baby drill.” + +For those of us dedicated to climate action, the result of the U.S. +election is obviously bitterly disappointing. + +But while the United States federal government under Donald Trump may +put climate action on the back burner, the work to build a clean energy +economy and protect our planet is going to continue in our country with +commitment and passion and belief. + +The historic climate investments that President Biden and Vice President +Harris have made over the past four years have a long tail…and will +continue to make an impact on emissions and people’s lives for years to +come. + +At the center of their agenda is the Inflation Reduction Act, which made +the largest investment in climate and clean energy in not only the +history of the United States—but the history of the world. + +More than two years after the law passed, we’ve largely implemented it. + +Last week, we announced that federal agencies have now awarded more than +$100 billion through the IRA—nearly 90 percent of the funding available +to spend. + +Even more importantly, the law has been government-enabled but +private-sector led. + +Treasury Department guidance is available on 21 out of 24 IRA tax credit +provisions…which has provided clarity and certainty to the clean energy +industry and unleashed a manufacturing and deployment boom. + +And we will finalize guidance on clean hydrogen and the new +technology-neutral clean electricity generation credits later this +month. + +Since President Biden took office, companies have announced about $450 +billion in new clean energy investments. + +We’ve seen more than 400,000 clean energy jobs created in that time. + +And these projects will continue getting built and bringing new economic +opportunity to communities of all stripes. + +In fact, all of this economic activity has turned the Inflation +Reduction Act from a law that no Republican voted for…to something that +a growing number of Republicans are now defending. + +According to Climate Power, 57 percent of the new clean energy jobs +created since the Inflation Reduction Act passed are located in +Congressional districts represented by Republicans. + +Those jobs come from new clean energy projects totaling $286 billion in +investment. + +Republican governors, especially, know what that investment means for +their constituents. + +And earlier this year, 18 House Republicans wrote a letter to Speaker +Mike Johnson urging him not to repeal the IRA’s energy tax credits. + +The letter says, “a full repeal would create a worst-case scenario where +we would have spent billions of taxpayer dollars and received next to +nothing in return.” + +It’s precisely because the IRA has staying power that I am confident +that the United States will continue to reduce emissions – benefitting +our own country and benefitting the world. + +The economics of the clean energy transition have simply taken over. + +New power generation is going to be clean. + +The desire to build out next generation nuclear is still there and +growing stronger. + +Farmers and ranchers are reducing emissions and raising their incomes +through more efficient and biologic fertilizers, biodigesters, and feed +additives. + +The hyperscalers are still committed to powering the future with clean +energy, including safe, reliable nuclear energy. + +The auto companies are still investing in electrification and +hybridization. + +All those trends are not going to be reversed. + +Are we facing new headwinds? Absolutely. + +But will we revert back to the energy system of the 1950s? No way. + +As I’ve said before, this is not the end of our fight for a cleaner, +safer planet—far from it. + +This fight is bigger than one election, one political cycle, in one +country. + +Facts are still facts. Science is still science. + +And that science is no doubt going to be under attack. + +We need to work together to protect the scientific process…to ensure +that scientists have the independence they need to maintain the highest +degree of integrity…and to communicate that investing in fundamental +research boosts America’s competitiveness and security. + +AGU has a huge role to play in advocating for these protections and +being a global beacon for scientific integrity and collaboration. + +We’re counting on you—the world’s scientists—to keep telling us the +truth about what’s happening to our planet and our communities. + +Over the next four years, the impacts of climate change will only +multiply. + +Public awareness and public concern about this problem will only expand. + +And the urgency to increase public and private investment in clean +technologies will only grow. + +Every single one of you has the agency to keep doing your work. + +To make the connection to the climate crisis crystal clear. + +And to communicate your findings to the public without fear or +hesitation…not only here in the U.S. but around the world…because +climate change transcends borders and so should climate science. + +The American people, and the entire world, will need your talents and +expertise to guide them through the next four years and then the next +forty. + +We owe all of you—and the entire scientific community—a debt of +gratitude for the work you’ve already done…and the work you will +continue to do. + +And know that so many Americans…and the majority of people around the +world…are going to have your back while you’re doing it. + +A better future is still possible…one where every child breathes clean +air and drinks clean water…one where every community benefits from +growing, clean industries of the future…one where our kids and grandkids +get to experience Earth’s natural beauty like we have. + +We can still create that future…as long as we stay focused on it…as long +as we work together…and as long as we hold our heads high while we’re +doing it. + +So let’s make it happen. + +Thank you. + +\### diff --git a/speeches-remarks/2024-12/2024-12-16-remarks-by-president-biden-honoring-our-nations-labor-history-and-the-biden-harris-administrations-work-to-strengthen-americas-workforce.md b/speeches-remarks/2024-12/2024-12-16-remarks-by-president-biden-honoring-our-nations-labor-history-and-the-biden-harris-administrations-work-to-strengthen-americas-workforce.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cad91a11 --- /dev/null +++ b/speeches-remarks/2024-12/2024-12-16-remarks-by-president-biden-honoring-our-nations-labor-history-and-the-biden-harris-administrations-work-to-strengthen-americas-workforce.md @@ -0,0 +1,385 @@ +--- +date: '2024-12-16' +modified_time: 2024-12-16 17:14:14-05:00 +published_time: 2024-12-16 17:00:00-05:00 +source_url: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/12/16/remarks-by-president-biden-honoring-our-nations-labor-history-and-the-biden-harris-administrations-work-to-strengthen-americas-workforce/ +tags: speeches-remarks +title: "Remarks by President\_Biden Honoring our Nation\u2019s Labor History and Establishing\ + \ the Frances Perkins National\_Monument" +--- + +U.S. Department of Labor +Washington, D.C. + +12:38 P.M. EST + +THE PRESIDENT:  Hello.  (Applause.)  It’s a good day.  (Applause.)  + +Thank you, Acting Secretary Su. + +AUDIENCE:  Thank you, Joe!  Thank you, Joe!  Thank you, Joe!  + +THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  I — I had no choice.  (Laughter.)  My +grandfather would come down from Heaven if I didn’t do this.  +(Laughter.) + +(Coughs.)  Excuse me, I have a little bit of a cold.  + +Folks, you know, this is an incredible honor.  I really mean that.  And +I want to thank Acting Secretary Su and the Department of Labor for this +incredible honor. + +You know, I measure the importance of the — any award I ever received +based on the character and consequence of the organization that’s +bestowing it.  And the Department of Labor is an organization of +character and consequence.  And I’m honored — (coughs) — I’m honored to +be joined today by leaders of character and conscious, many of them +sitting right here in the front row.  Half of my Cabinet is here.  +(Laughter and applause.) + +I want to thank all — all the labor leaders here today, including Liz +and the AFL-CIO; members of the Cabinet, including Interior Secretary +Deb Haaland.  You know, you talked about that list that she — that the +secretary brought in her pocket when she met with Trump — I mean, with +Roosevelt — Trump? — Freudian slip — (laughter) — and — but I — I think +she had a relative she left behind.  + +Would you stand up, Madam Secretary — secretary of Interior?  +(Applause.) + +I’ve been around a long time, and she’s the only secretary I’ve ever +worked with or had working for me who when I say, “That’s done,” she’d — +“No, no, no.  We have this to do now.”  (Laughter.)  + +Thank you, kiddo. + +Look, you know, former Labor secretary, who is now in the White House, +senior advisor (inaudible), is Tom Perez.  (Applause.)  Where is he?  + +Tom, thanks for sticking with me.  + +And members of Congress, including Maine — Maine senator, Angus King, +and Cherlie \[Chellie\] Pingree — where — where is Ch- — where +are you guys?  All over here.  Okay.  There you are.  (Applause.)  + +And, by — and, by the way, last night, we were doing a — a Christmas +event at the house, and I got finished talking to a group of folks from +Labor, and my wife said, “And, by the way, his wife is a member of a +labor union too.”  (Laughter and applause.)  + +I’m Jill Biden’s husband.  She’s not here today, but she’s been a +long-time union member of the National Education Association.  +(Applause.) + +And it’s fitting, with all these powerful women here, that we’ve +gathered at headquarters of the Department of Labor, named after one of +America’s greatest labor leaders — and that’s not hyperbole — Frances +Perkins. + +You know, we’re honored to be joined by her grandson, Tomlin.  Where are +you, Tomlin?  (Applause.)  Thank you, bud. + +Saturday, March 25th, 1911, Frances sat down for afternoon tea at her +home with a close friend from New York City.  Suddenly, they hear the +sound of a distant screams and sirens.  The building was in flames.  Her +instinct was to run to the scene. + +As she approached the fire and smoke, she recognized the Triangle +Shirt\[waist\] Factory, a company that employed hundreds of workers, +mostly immigrants and women, who worked long hours crammed into tight +quarters, where managers locked them inside to make clothing. + +In an instant, those workers were trapped in a brutal blaze.  With no +safe exit, some workers forced to climb out the windows, holding on for +dear life until their fingers gave out.  Others just jumped — prayed and +jumped. + +A total of 150 lives were lost that day.  It was the deadliest +industrial disaster in American history.  + +Frances was devastated.  But that fire ignited a passion in her.  It +strengthened her resolve to fight even harder for working Americans and +working families. + +In her decades of service, she became a fierce defender of unions and +workers’ rights, an architect of the New Deal, the first woman Cabinet +secretary — the first woman Cabinet secretary.  I increased on that a +little bit — (laughter) — because I know what my family is like.  All of +— all the really bright people in my family are women.  (Laughter.)  And +the longest-serving secretary of Labor in American history, God love +you. + +And the story goes, after Franklin Roosevelt asked her to become his +Labor secretary, Frances Perkins immediately responded by outlining her +goals, what she wanted done.  She said, “I want unemployment relief, +overtime pay, child labor laws, minimum wage, worker’s compensation, +national health insurance, and Social Security” — (laughs) — many of the +benefits we take for granted as a consequence of Frances’s dedication to +inciting courage.  + +But that — can you imagine walking up to Roosevelt and saying, “Hey, +I’ll take the job, but here’s the deal, man.”  (Laughter.)  “Let’s get +this straight.”  Like I said, a little bit like when I asked Frances to +do my job. + +Hard-fought battles and — with Teamsters and, you know, at her — look, a +real testament to her skill as an advocate for public servants. + +An example that, through the Fair Labor Standards Act, she cemented the +idea that if you’re working a full-time job, you shouldn’t have to live +in poverty — a simple proposition.  If you work a little extra, you +should have extra money for overtime.  Not a crazy idea.  Even — some +even argue about it now. + +Frances understood what my dad taught me, and I — you’ve heard me say +this a thousand times, but it — he really would say this.  He said, +“Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about your +dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about your place in the community.  +It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s +going to be okay,’ and mean it.”  That’s my dad.  + +In fact, during her 12 years in office, she accomplished everything on +her list, except expanded health care for health insurance.  It took 65 +years later and a guy named Barack Obama and I to get the Affordable +Care Act passed.  (Applause.)  And thank God all of us here have +protected and expanded the Affordable Care Act. + +Look, it’s clear that Frances Perkins and a generation of activists and +labor leaders laid the groundwork for much of what we’ve accomplished in +the last four years. + +We’re fundamentally transforming the economy by breaking an economic +orthodoxy that has failed this nation for generation after generation, +in my view: trickle-down economics, the notion that if you — every — the +wealthy do very, very well, a little will trickle off — off their tables +onto our kitchen table.  + +My dad used to say, “Nothing ever trickled on my table, honey.”  +(Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.  + +My dad was a really well-read man who didn’t get to go — he went — +accepted to Johns Hopkins, but during the war, he never got to go.  But +my dad was a well-read guy.  + +Well, you know, the primary benefits to the very wealthy and the biggest +corporations were trickle-down economics, and that didn’t do much for +working people and the middle class and left too many people behind.  + +Together, we built an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not +the top down, and because we know this simple truth: Wall Street didn’t +build America; the middle class built America, and u- — (applause) — and +unions built the middle class.  (Applause.)  Un- — and that’s a fact.  + +In fact, as th- — as the secretary of Treasury will tell you, I asked +her to do a study because I was going to get hit, because I knew they’d +say by having unions increase in their numbers and their wages go up, we +were going to cost people thing.  Guess what?  The study the Treasury +did showed that when unions do well, all workers do well -– union and +non-worker \[non-union\], across the board.  (Applause.) + +It matters.  It works.  It’s fair. + +Kamala and I are so proud of the great job creation record of any — +actually, the greatest job correction \[creation\] of any single +president in a single term: over 6 \[16\] million jobs so far, +including over 1.5 million manufacturing and construction jobs — +good-paying jobs you can raise a family on and don’t have to require a +four-year degree.  And get this: There are more women, especially +mothers, in the workforce than ever before in American history.  +(Applause.) + +We’re so damn proud to have protected pensions of millions of union +workers and retirees — (applause) — when I signed the Butch Lewis +Act.  + +You know, think about that.  Imagine what the average American would say +if you were going to do that with their Social Security, which this guy +wants to do.  Imagine if he said, “Your pension, you can’t count on it +anymore.”  + +In addition, we’ve recovered more than $1 billion in back wages and +damages for over 600,000 workers here in America.  (Applause.) + +We wo- — we’ve pushed for a right to a living wage and your right to +overtime pay. + +Jobs and factories are coming back home to America because we invested +in the American agenda.  We’re modernizing American infrastructure.  + +Last time, this guy had — last guy had the job, he had “Infrastructure +Week” every week — didn’t build a damn thing.  (Laughter.)  Well, guess +what?  We’re — we built a lot.  And guess what’s coming?  + +Look, folks, one of the things that is frustrating — I knew this was +going to happen because I’ve been around a long time, and I talked over +to the secretary of Agriculture and other places.  Guess what?  All the +things — we have $1.4 trillion in economic — in — in infrastructure +growth.  That’s thousands of good-paying jobs.  + +The CHIPS and Science Act investing billions of dollars — billions of +dollars — building these fabs that are going to house hundreds of people +working, thousands, and they’re going to be ba- — getting paid about +average of $102,000 a year and don’t need a college degree. + +So much — so much is going on.  But it’s going to take a little bit of +time.  But we got to make sure to protect — protect the — the onslaught +that’s going to come, because it’s hard to see right away. + +And, by the way, I know I got criticized by putting as many of these +programs in red states as blue states — actually more.  Well, guess +what?  The red state guys screwed it up.  (Laughter.)  And we got a be- +— benefit — we — we represent all of America, not just — not just blue +America, not just Democrats, but all of America.  + +Look, as we do all this, we’re — we’re buying America, using American +workers, using American products.  And we’re standing up to Amer- — for +American steelworkers against China’s unfair trade practices. + +We appointed a National Labor Relations Board that actually believes in +unions and has pro-union members on the board.  (Applause.)  A strange +notion.  And a special thank you to the chair of the board, Lauren +McFerran — (applause) — (inaudible) — who is here.  Where are you, +Lauren?  There — thank you, Lauren.  + +Don’t be so shy.  Raise your — stand up.  Let everybody see you.  +(Laughter and applause.) + +And it’s no accident — no accident that petitions to form unions have +doubled — doubled under my presidency.  (Applause.)  + +I got all this credit for walking the picket line.  It never crossed my +mind not to walk the picket line.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.  I +didn’t think it was any big deal.  I walked a lot of picket lines.  The +fact that I was president, I hadn’t thought about that.  And then +Pamela \[Kamala\] walked the picket line.  We support the right +to fair contracts.   + +Here’s one, you know, that doesn’t get enough attention: When workers in +sectors like construction, manufacturing, mining inhale toxic silica +dust on the job, it can lead to lung cancer and other deadly diseases.  +It’s been a major problem for decades, even under Secretary Perkins.  +She led an investigation, but despite the science, big business blocked +the regulation. + +But not on our watch.  Not on your watch.  With your help, we carried +Frances’s — Frances’s mantle and issued a rule that finally reduces such +dangerous exposure.  + +And, by the way — (applause) — our secretary — the secretary of Veterans +Affairs is sitting in front of me here — one of the really good guys.  I +really mean it. + +And, you know, we — what we’ve done — what we did for the CHIPS and +Science Act, and then we went — made sure we were going to take care of +veterans.  We said all those folks, in my generation, exposed to Agent +Orange couldn’t prove that their illness was a consequence of it and all +those, like my son’s generation, that were exposed to toxic burn pits in +Iraq and other places, that it’s assumed that — my son came back, for +example, with Stage Four glioblastoma.  More brain injuries than +anything else.  And guess what?  They’re entitled to the benefits that +they were going to get if they had not lost their lives — their family.  +(Applause.) + +And to ad-lib here a little bit, I — I think the American people are +beginning to figure out all we’re doing is what’s basically decent and +fair — just basically decent and fair. + +We have a lot of sacred obligations — I got into trouble for saying this +before, but we only have one truly sacred obligation: to prepare those +we send into harm’s way and pre- — care for them and their families when +they come home.  And that’s a simple proposition.  Finally, that’s +happening. + +What — what you got?  Another million now?  A million you’re taking care +of. + +I make no apologies.  I’m so damn proud of that.  (Applause.) + +Look, folks, in our four years together, we’ve made historic investments +that have changed the course of the nation’s future and will have a +lasting impact for decades to come. + +And I’m here to say, to state the obvious, we could not have done this +without the dedicated professionals here at the Department of Labor and +all across this administration.  (Applause.)  Could not have done. + +And I’m damn proud to be known as the most pro-labor administration in +American history, because we are.  We are.  We make no apologies.  +(Applause.) + +Look, let me close with this.  Frances Perkins once said, “The people +are what matter to government, and the government should aim to give +people — all people under its jurisdiction the best possible life” — +“the best possible life.” + +For my dad, it was a simple proposition: Everybody deserves a shot.  No +guarantee, but a shot.  Everybody deserves a shot. + +All of you have helped the — upheld that vision, putting the people +first, no matter who they are. + +Another important legacy of our administration is making sure we learn +from history, lift up stories that often have gone untold. + +Earlier this year, during Women’s History Month, I signed the first-ever +executive order on recognizing and honoring women’s history to increase +representation of women and historic sites — in historic sites all +across America. + +Today, I’m proud to stand here in the Frances Perkins — Perkins +Building, headquarters of the Labor Department, to designate Frances +Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, a national monument.  (Applause.) + +And Secretary Haaland is also going to be announcing five new national +historic landmarks to honor women’s contributions to American history.  +(Applause.) + +They includes Charleston Cigar Factory — (coughs) — excuse me — where +Black women led a workers’ strike that opposed gender and racial +discrimination and advocated for better pay for working conditions. + +Look, too many people want to rewrite history or ignore it.  Look, we +wa- — all we want to do is make — le- — make sure we record history — +record history — the good, bad, and the indifferent — who we are.  + +I was able to show up at Indian Country and apologize for what we did to +the Indian Americans, for the schools we made them go to and took them +away, off the reservations with their parents. + +Throughout our history, women’s vision and achievements have +strengthened this nation, to state the obvious. + +That’s why I’ve kept my commitment to have an administration that looks +like America, and that includes having more women in senior access all +across the board, starting with my amazing vice president, Kamala +Harris.  (Applause.) + +It’s about time we honor them in building the American Women’s Museum +and — History Museum on the Mall — (applause) — and the Women’s Suffrage +National Monument on the National Mall.  (Applause.)   + +And, by the way, it’s time for Congress to move in authorizing that +legislation — moving it forward.  They should do it now, before this +Congress ends.  (Applause.)  + +Folks, our administration is coming to an end, but our work continues. + +We get up.  We keep going.  We keep the faith.  I know I will.  I know +you will.  We just have to remember who in the hell we are. + +We’re the United States of America.  (Applause.)  There is nothing +beyond our capacity when we do it together — nothing, nothing, nothing.  +(Applause.) + +May God bless you all.  And may God prote- — protect our troops.  +(Applause.) + +And now I will sign the proclamation. + +Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.) + +Here. + +(The proclamation is signed.)  (Applause.) + +12:57 P.M. EST diff --git a/statements-releases/2024-12/2024-12-16-president-biden-announces-key-nominees-80.md b/statements-releases/2024-12/2024-12-16-president-biden-announces-key-nominees-80.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a48a80f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/statements-releases/2024-12/2024-12-16-president-biden-announces-key-nominees-80.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +--- +date: '2024-12-16' +modified_time: 2024-12-16 16:34:30-05:00 +published_time: 2024-12-16 16:45:00-05:00 +source_url: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/16/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-80/ +tags: statements-releases +title: "President\_Biden Announces Key\_Nominees" +--- + +WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to +renominate the following individual to continue serving as a key leader +in his administration: + +- Anton Hajjar, Nominee to be a Governor of the United States Postal + Service Board of Governors + +**Anton Hajjar, Nominee to be a Governor of the United States Postal +Service Board of Governors** + +Anton Hajjar was previously confirmed by the U.S. Senate via voice vote, +and sworn into office as a Governor of the United States Postal Service +on May 28, 2021. + +Anton Hajjar is the former General Counsel of the American Postal +Workers Union, AFL-CIO, and has significant experience representing +unions and union workers. Since his retirement from active practice at +the end of 2016, he has concentrated on pro bono legal work in the +District of Columbia and Maryland. + +He worked for seven years for the National Labor Relations Board in the +New Orleans regional office and the Appellate Court Branch in +Washington, D.C. In private practice, he was a Principal with O’Donnell, +Schwartz & Anderson, PC and Of Counsel with Murphy Anderson PLLC. Hajjar +has written articles and given presentations to federal judges, lawyers, +union officials and lay audiences on labor and employment subjects. He +has been an advisor and pro bono attorney in numerous employment +discrimination cases. In 2002, he was elected to membership in the +American Law Institute, and has served as a member of its governing +board since 2010. The American-Arab Antidiscrimination Committee +presented Hajjar with its Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award in 2012 +and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.  + +Hajjar has a J.D. from Tulane Law School and clerked for the Honorable +John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. +Before law school, he was employed for three years as a U.S. Customs +Inspector. Hajjar has also worked as merchant seaman, factory worker, +truck driver, laborer, and hospital attendant. + +He now lives in Chevy Chase, MD, with his wife Sandra Hughes, who was a +labor attorney and consults on aging issues. They have two adopted +children, Claire and Gregory, who were born in Lebanon. They have one +grandchild. + +\# \# \#   diff --git a/statements-releases/2024-12/2024-12-16-statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-shooting-at-abundant-life-christian-school-in-wisconsin.md b/statements-releases/2024-12/2024-12-16-statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-shooting-at-abundant-life-christian-school-in-wisconsin.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cd363939 --- /dev/null +++ b/statements-releases/2024-12/2024-12-16-statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-shooting-at-abundant-life-christian-school-in-wisconsin.md @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +--- +date: '2024-12-16' +modified_time: 2024-12-16 16:59:14-05:00 +published_time: 2024-12-16 16:59:13-05:00 +source_url: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/16/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-shooting-at-abundant-life-christian-school-in-wisconsin/ +tags: statements-releases +title: "Statement from President Joe\_Biden on Shooting at Abundant Life Christian\ + \ School in\_Wisconsin" +--- + +Today, families in Madison, Wisconsin, are grieving the loss of those +who were killed and wounded at Abundant Life Christian School. It’s +shocking and unconscionable. + +We need Congress to act. Now. + +From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison, to so many other shootings +that don’t receive attention – it is unacceptable that we are unable to +protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. We cannot +continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in +their class room. Students across our country should be learning how to +read and write – not having to learn how to duck and cover. + +Jill and I are praying for all the victims today, including the teacher +and teenage student who were killed and those who sustained injuries. We +are grateful for the first responders who quickly arrived on the scene, +and the FBI is supporting local law enforcement efforts. At my +direction, my team has reached out to local officials to offer further +support as needed. + +My administration has taken aggressive action to combat the gun violence +epidemic. We passed the most significant gun safety legislation in +nearly 30 years, I have taken more executive action to reduce gun +violence than any other President in history, and I created the +first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. But more is +needed. Congress must pass commonsense gun safety laws: Universal +background checks. A national red flag law. A ban on assault weapons and +high-capacity magazines. + +We can never accept senseless violence that traumatizes children, their +families, and tears entire communities apart. + +\###