Tag: us president joe biden

Biden signs executive order to ensure legal immigration system operates fairly, efficiently

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As part of his efforts to ensure that the legal immigration system operates fairly and efficiently, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday to review the policies of the previous administration, including that of the public charge. The review of the existing policies and the subsequent recommendations coming from 60 to 180 days from various federal agencies are likely to end up in benefitting hundreds and thousands of Indian professionals in realising their dream of citizenship of the United States.

”The federal government should develop welcoming strategies that promote integration, inclusion and citizenship, and it should embrace the full participation of the newest Americans in our democracy,” Biden said in one of the three executive orders he signed on Tuesday. The president told reporters at the White House that his executive orders are about how America is safer, stronger, more prosperous when it has a fair, orderly and humane legal immigration system.

”Today we are going to work to undo the moral and national shame of the previous administration that literally, not figuratively, ripped children from the arms of their families, their mothers and fathers at the border and with no plan, none whatsoever to reunify the children who are still in custody and their parents,” he said. The first executive order was on creating a task force, chaired by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to reunify families, which will work across governments to find parents and children separated by the prior administration.

The second executive order develops a strategy to address the root causes of migration across the borders and creates a humane asylum system, including directing the DHS to take steps to end the Migrant Protection Protocols programme, which had led to a humanitarian crisis in northern Mexico. ”The third executive order promotes immigrant integration and inclusion and ensures that our legal immigration system operates fairly and efficiently by instructing agencies to review the public charge rule and related policies,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.

Biden, in his third executive order, said over four crore foreign-born individuals live in the US and millions more Americans have immigrants in their families or ancestry. ”New Americans and their children fuel our economy, working in every industry, including healthcare, construction, caregiving, manufacturing, service, and agriculture. They open and successfully run businesses at high rates, creating jobs for millions, and they contribute to our arts, culture and government, providing new traditions, customs, and viewpoints,” he said.

They are essential workers helping to keep the economy afloat and providing important services to Americans during a global pandemic. They have helped the US lead the world in science, technology and innovation. And they are on the frontlines of research to develop COVID-19 vaccines and treatments for those afflicted with the deadly disease, Biden asserted. Among other things, the review seeks to identify appropriate agency actions, if any, to address concerns about the current public charge policies’ effect on the integrity of the nation’s immigration system and public health, and recommend steps that relevant agencies should take to clearly communicate current public charge policies and proposed changes, if any, to reduce fear and confusion among the impacted communities.

The executive order is in addition to the slew of similar orders signed by Biden on the first day of his administration and the citizenship bill that he has sent to the Congress. The bill among other things proposes to eliminate the per-country quota in Green Card allocation, a move that will benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian immigrants. The Biden Administration has also decided not to pursue the move of the previous Trump Administration to rescind the policy of giving work authorisation to spouses of H-1B visa holders. The move has been welcomed by legal Indian immigrants. The global tech trade association, ITI, welcomed the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to reunite families that had been forcibly separated at the US border and to ensure a fair and efficient legal immigration system in the country.

In keeping with his administration’s efforts, the ITI also urged Biden to formally rescind the Trump Administration’s presidential proclamation that currently prohibits certain high-skilled immigrants from obtaining visas as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. ”Keeping families together and enacting modern, fair and efficient immigration policies will strengthen communities, drive innovation and spur US economic growth. To further bolster the US economic recovery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that President Biden rescind the current suspension of high-skilled immigration. Our industry is committed to working with policymakers in the administration and in US Congress to advance a modern, competitive immigration system,” it said.

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) executive director Benjamin Johnson said changes are important, as is the effort the administration is undertaking to reunite the families separated by the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy, which has already been rolled back by the new administration.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Biden, Harris meet 10 Republican senators on $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have held a meeting with a group of 10 Republican senators to discuss the USD 1.9 trillion relief package for Americans affected by COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed over 443,000 lives and infected more than 26 million people in the country. The meeting held on Monday in the Oval Office of the White House lasted for about two hours but ended on an inconclusive note.

”We have just had a very productive, cordial two-hour meeting with the president and the vice president and some of their key aides to discuss the next steps on the COVID-relief package, Senator Susan Collins told reporters at the White House after the meeting. ”We outlined for the president the provisions that we have proposed as part of an approximately USD 600 billion package, she said.

During the meeting, Biden explained in more depth areas that were not fleshed out as much in the USD 1.9 trillion package. Biden has proposed a USD 1.9 trillion relief package that Democratic leaders want to move quickly through Congress. The group led by Collins countered with a much narrower USD 618 billion proposal, and appealed to Biden to make good on his campaign promises to seek bipartisan unity.

”It was a very good exchange of views. I wouldn’t say that we came together on a package tonight. No one expected that in a two-hour meeting, Collins said. ”But what we did agree to do is to follow-up and talk further at the staff level and amongst ourselves and with the president and vice president on how we can continue to work together on this very important issue, she said.

The group shared a desire to get help to the American people, who are suffering through the worst health and economic crisis in a generation, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. While there were areas of agreement, the president also reiterated his view that Congress must respond boldly and urgently and noted many areas which the Republican senators’ proposal does not address, she said. According to Psaki, Biden reiterated that while he is hopeful that the Rescue Plan can pass with bipartisan support, a reconciliation package is a path to achieve that end.

”The President also made clear that the American Rescue Plan was carefully designed to meet the stakes of this moment, and any changes in it cannot leave the nation short of its pressing needs, she said. Psaki said that the president expressed his hope that the group could continue to discuss ways to strengthen the American Rescue Plan as it moves forward and find areas of common ground including work on small business support and nutrition programmes.

”He reiterated, however, that he will not slow down work on this urgent crisis response, and will not settle for a package that fails to meet the moment, she said. The US is the worst affected country due to the coronavirus pandemic, with 443,186 recorded deaths and 26,307,963 infections detected in the country. The novel coronavirus which originated in China’s Wuhan city in December 2019 has claimed 2,236,559 lives and infected 103,378,964 people across the globe, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Republicans press Biden to downsize $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Ten moderate Republican US senators urged President Joe Biden on Sunday to significantly downsize his sweeping USD 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package to win bipartisan support as Democrats in Congress prepared to push ahead with his plan this week.

A top White House economic adviser signaled willingness to discuss the ideas raised by Republican senators who floated a USD 600 billion alternative but said the Democratic president was not willing to compromise on the need for a comprehensive bill to address the public health crisis and economic fallout.
”He is open to ideas, wherever they may come. … What he’s uncompromising about is the need to move with speed on a comprehensive approach here,” Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, told NBC’s ”Meet the Press” program. ”A piecemeal approach … is not a recipe for success.”\

It was unclear whether the outreach by 10 of the 50 Republicans in the 100-seat chamber would shift plans by congressional Democrats to take up legislation in the coming days. Biden and fellow Democrats are seeking to make use of their control of the House of Representatives and Senate to move quickly on the president’s top goal of addressing the pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said his chamber would begin work on it as early as this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress would complete a preliminary step before the end of the week.

Congress enacted USD 4 trillion in COVID-19 relief last year.

Passage of the new relief legislation not only would impact Americans and businesses reeling during a pandemic that has killed about 440,000 people in the United States but also offers an early test of Biden’s promise to work to bridge the partisan divide in Washington.

Biden, who took office Jan. 20, has proposed USD 160 billion for vaccines and testing, USD 170 billion for schools and universities, and funds to give certain Americans a USD 1,400 per-person stimulus check, among other provisions. Some Republicans have questioned the overall price tag, while others urged more targeted measures, particularly over the direct payments to individuals.

LESS SCHOOL FUNDING

In their letter to Biden, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney and seven other senators asked Biden for a meeting and said their compromise plan could be quickly passed with bipartisan support, promising more details on Monday.

They said their bill included more targeted assistance for families in need and additional funds for small businesses while echoing Biden’s USD 160 billion for more funding to boost vaccines and testing. They also pointed to unspent money from previous COVID-19 relief bills.

”We’re targeted to the needs of the American people,” Senator Bill Cassidy, one of the 10 senators, told the ”Fox News Sunday” program. Cassidy added that their plan included less school funding, saying many private schools had already reopened and that the ”the real problem is public schools” and ”teachers’ unions telling their teachers not to go to work.”

Fellow Republican Rob Portman, who also signed the letter, told CNN’s ”State of the Union” program that direct checks should be limited to individuals making USD 50,000 and less and families making USD 100,000 or less. The 10 Republicans endorsed keeping extra federal unemployment aid amid the pandemic at USD 300 a week versus Biden’s proposed USD 400 a week. But Portman questioned the need for the Biden plan’s extension of enhanced unemployment aid through September, noting ”we don’t know what the economy is going to look like” then.

Deese said the White House was reviewing the letter from the Republicans but did not say whether Biden would meet with the group, which also included Republicans Shelley Moore Capito, Todd Young, Jerry Moran and Michael Rounds.

Biden ”is absolutely willing to negotiate,” Jared Bernstein, a member of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisors, told ”Fox News Sunday,” but said more details were needed.

The United States leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths by a large margin. Public health experts have urged an immediate scaling up of lagging vaccination efforts as new problematic variants of the novel coronavirus emerge.

At USD 1.9 trillion, Biden’s plan ”is scaled to have the punch to finally put these dual crises behind us,” Bernstein added, referring to virus control and economic relief.

Some moderate Democrats also have urged changes to Biden’s package, while more liberal Democrats want more spending and other provisions such as a federal minimum wage hike to USD 15-an-hour – more than double the current USD 7.25-and-hour.

With the Senate split 50-50 and Vice President Kamala Harris wielding the tie-breaking vote, Democrats are considering using a parliamentary tool called ”reconciliation” that would let the chamber approve the legislation with a simple majority. Under Senate rules, legislation usually requires 60 votes for passage.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Biden admin to remain committed to a strong US-India bilateral relationship: Pentagon

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Biden administration is going to remain committed to a strong bilateral relationship with India, the Pentagon has said, a day after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke for the first time with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The Secretary made it very clear that we’re going to remain committed to a strong US-India bilateral relationship, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters at a news conference here on Thursday.

(They) had a good chat yesterday. They discussed a lot of issues, including our two nations’ response to the coronavirus, Kirby said responding to a question on the maiden phone call between Austin and Singh. Retired general Austin became the first African-American to lead the Pentagon when the Senate confirmed him as US Defence Secretary on January 22.

During his conversation with Singh on Wednesday, Austin pledged to work collaboratively with India to sustain the progress in the bilateral defence relationship, the Pentagon said earlier. ”During the call, Secretary Austin emphasised the Department’s commitment to the US-India Major Defence Partnership, observing that it is built upon shared values and a common interest in ensuring the Indo-Pacific region remains free and open,” Kirby said on Wednesday.

”Secretary Austin noted the great strides made in the US-India defence relationship, and he pledged to work collaboratively with the Defence Minister to sustain progress, Kirby said in a readout of the call. The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years and in June 2016, the US had designated India a Major Defence Partner.

The two countries have also inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation.

Also Read: US Prez Biden signs healthcare executive orders, says undoing damage Trump has done

The two sides have also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 that provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for sale of high-end technology from the US to India.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Decision on H4 visas signals Biden’s commitment to supporting immigrant women workers: SAALT

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Welcoming US President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw a Trump-era rule rescinding work authorisation for H4 visa holders, who are spouses of those possessing H-1B work visas with majority being highly-skilled Indian women, a South Asian advocacy group has said it signals the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to supporting immigrant women workers. An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The H-4 visa is normally issued to those who have already started the process of seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident status in the US.

Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security withdrew its proposal to rescind H 4 work authorisations. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on Monday said that the proposed rule titled, ’Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses from the Class of Aliens Eligible for Employment Authorisation,’ was being withdrawn.

This means that more than 100,000 H 4 EAD (Employment Authorisation Document) recipients, the majority of whom are women of colour, keep their right to work. This move to preserve the programme signals the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to supporting immigrant women workers who play an essential role as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) said on Thursday. Despite this hopeful news, SAALT continues to hear from community members who have been adversely impacted by significant delays in the processing of H 4 work authorisation documents, it said in a statement.

These people must be protected and the Biden administration must unilaterally extend the validity period of all expired H 4 EADs and resolve USCIS processing delays, SAALT said. Hopefully, we will see these extensions come with the introduction of the Citizenship Act of 2021 in the coming weeks, SAALT said.

It seeks to formalise work authorisation for H 4 EAD visa recipients, create an accessible and equitable pathway to citizenship (especially for undocumented essential workers) and commit to a structural transformation of our broken immigration system that addresses and resolves backlogs. SAALT said that Biden and Congress must work together to pass clean immigration and essential worker bills.

Meanwhile, FWD.us, a pro-immigration lobbying group, commended the Biden-Harris administration for taking immediate action to turn the page from the Trump-Pence administration’s disastrous immigration policies and to do right by more than 100,000 hardworking immigrants who are contributing to the United States every single day in the midst of a deadly pandemic. Allowing H-4 visa holders the ability to continue working and providing for their families has profound, life-changing effects for these individuals and our communities. Roughly 93 per cent are women and many are working in essential roles that are key to supporting our nation’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, said FWD.us president Todd Schulte.

Spouses of Indian professionals on H-1B visas, mostly women, are the biggest beneficiaries of the Obama-era rule that gave employment authorisation cards. The Trump administration in 2017 announced that it would rescind that rule. However, the Republican Party-led Trump administration was not able to complete the process in the four years of its rule. During the presidential election, the Biden campaign had promised to withdraw the Trump administration’s move.

In December, a group of 60 members of the US House of Representatives in a letter urged Biden to unilaterally extend the expiration work authorisation documents for holders of H-4 visas. In 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a rule allowing certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders to legally seek employment in the US, the letter said.

This rule presented an important step towards rectifying gender disparities in our immigration system, as around 95 percent of H4 visa holders who have secured work authorisations are women, FWD.us said. As of December 2017, the USCIS had approved 1,26,853 applications for employment authorisation for H-4 visa holders.

According to a 2018 report by Congressional Research Service (CRS), 93 percent of approved applications for H-4 employment authorisation were issued to individuals born in India and five percent were issued to individuals born in China. According to FWD.us, many H-4 visa holders are doctors, scientists and teachers, and are working in crucial industries that are key to the nation’s response and economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Also Read: US Prez Biden signs healthcare executive orders, says undoing damage Trump has done

Research shows that ending H-4 would damage the economy and cost jobs, with no clear benefit to other workers. ”Expanding protections for spouses and children of temporary workers will help keep families together and keep the US globally competitive as we rebuild from the pandemic,” it added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US Prez Biden signs healthcare executive orders, says undoing damage Trump has done

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US President Joe Biden has signed two healthcare executive orders which he said were to undo the damage done by his predecessor Donald Trump. The first executive order was about restoring the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid to the way they were before Trump became president.

Biden alleged that under his predecessor, they were more inaccessible, more expensive and more difficult for people to qualify for either of those two items. The second executive order was about protecting women’s health at home and abroad.

It reinstates the changes that were made to Title 10 and other things, making it harder for women to have access to affordable healthcare as it relates to their reproductive rights, he told reporters at the White House on Thursday. It has been a busy week, and I have signed executive orders tackling COVID-19, the economic and climate crises, as well as advancing racial equity. But, today, I’m about to sign two executive orders that are basically, the best way to describe them, to undo the damage Trump has done, Biden said.

There’s nothing new that we’re doing here, other than restoring the Affordable Care Act and restoring the Medicaid to the way it was before Trump became President, which by fiat he changed — made more inaccessible, more expensive, and more difficult for people to qualify for either of those two items: the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid, he said. Responding to a question, Biden said that the first thing his administration has got to do is get the COVID-19 package passed by Congress.

The White House said that the Biden-Harris administration will re-open enrolment to the Health Insurance Marketplace, take additional steps to strengthen Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and protect women’s health. These actions demonstrate a strong commitment by the Biden-Harris administration to protect and build on the Affordable Care Act, meet the healthcare needs created by the pandemic, reduce healthcare costs, protect access to reproductive healthcare and make our health care system easier to navigate and more equitable, it said.

For Biden, this is personal. He believes that every American has a right to the peace of mind that comes with knowing they have access to affordable, quality health care, the White House said. Because of the Affordable Care Act, over 100 million people no longer have to worry that an insurance company will deny coverage or charge higher premiums just because they have a pre-existing condition.

Roughly 20 million additional Americans obtained the security that comes with health insurance, and young people transitioning from school to a job can stay covered by their parents’ plan until age 26, it said. Through his second presidential order, Biden aimed at protecting and expanding access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare.

The memorandum reflects the policy of the Biden-Harris administration to support women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States, as well as globally. Like memoranda issued by previous presidents Bill Clinton and president Barack Obama before him, it immediately rescinds the global gag rule, also referred to as the Mexico City Policy, which bars international non-profits that provide abortion counselling or referrals from receiving US funding.

Also Read: US outraged over Pakistan SC acquitting Daniel Pearl’s killers: White House.

In recognition of the additional work necessary to protect access to reproductive healthcare, President Biden’s memorandum also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to take immediate action to consider whether to rescind regulations under its Title X family planning programme.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Testing wristbands, masks a sign of new boss at White House

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Testing wristbands are in. Mask-wearing is mandatory. Desks are socially distanced. The clearest sign that there’s a new boss at the White House is the deference being paid to coronavirus public health guidlines.

It’s a striking contrast to Donald Trump’s White House, which was the epicenter of no less than three separate outbreaks of COVID-19, their true scale not fully known because aides refused to discuss cases publicly. While the Trump administration was known for flouting safety recommendations, the Biden team has made a point of abiding by the same strict guidelines they’re urging Americans to follow to stem the spread of the virus.

It’s part of an overall effort from President Joe Biden to lead by example on the coronavirus pandemic, an ethos carried over from his campaign and transition. One of the great tragedies of the Trump administration was a refusal to recognise that many Americans model the behavior of our leadership,” said Ben LaBolt, a former press secretary to President Barack Obama who worked on the Biden transition.

The Biden administration understands the powerful message that adhering to their own guidelines and modeling the best public health behavior sends and knows that that’s the best path to climbing out of this until we can get a shot in the arm of every American. To that end, most of Biden’s White House staff is working from home, coordinating with colleagues by email or phone. While the White House aims to have more people working on site next week, officials intend to operate with substantially reduced staffing for the duration of the pandemic. When hundreds of administration staffers were sworn in by Biden on Wednesday, the ceremony was virtual, with the president looking out at team members displayed in boxes on video screens.

The emphasis on adhering to public safety guidelines touches matters both big and small in the White House. Jeffrey Wexler is the White House director of COVID-19 operations, overseeing the implementation of safety guidelines throughout the administration, a role he also served during the transition and campaign. During her first press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested those working in the office would receive daily testing and N95 masks would be mandatory.

Indeed, Biden’s new federal mask mandate executive order requires that federal employees, contractors and others in federal buildings and on federal lands wear masks and adhere to social distancing requirements. The executive order allows for agency heads to make case-by-case exceptions” like, for instance, Psaki’s. She wears one until she steps up to the podium for briefings. Officials in close contact with Biden wear wristbands to signify they have been tested that day. Every event with the president is carefully choreographed to maintain distancing, with strips of paper taped to the carpet to show the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris and Dr. Anthony Fauci where to stand when Biden is delivering an address.

Also Read: Biden launches ‘100 days mask challenge’; makes COVID-19 test, quarantine mandatory for people entering the US.

When Biden met with his COVID team in the State Dining Room on Thursday, the five people in the room sat at individual tables placed at least six feet apart and four others joined by Zoom to keep numbers down. Plexiglass barriers have been set up at some desks that are in open areas, but nearly all staff who are already working in the building have enclosed offices. The Biden team already had a robust contact tracing programme set up during the transition, which it’s keeping around for any possible exposures.

Staffers also were issued laptops with wallpaper displays that offer a list of COVID symptoms and a directive to call the White House medical unit if they have experienced any of them. The Trump White House was another story altogether.

After one virus scare in May, the White House mandated mask-wearing, with a memo from chief of staff Mark Meadows requiring their use in shared workspaces and meetings. Simple surgical masks were placed at the entrance to the West Wing. But after only a few days of moderate compliance, mask-wearing fell away almost entirely, as Trump made it clear to aides he did not like the visual of people around him wearing masks let alone wearing one himself.

Trump’s White House reduced staffing capacity during the earliest days of the pandemic, but by late spring, when Trump was intent on projecting that the country was reopening from pandemic lockdowns and the US was at roughly 80,000 deaths aides quickly resumed normal operations. That provided ideal conditions for the spread of an airborne virus. It was only after Trump himself tested positive that some aides began staggering their work schedules to provide enhanced distancing and contingencies in case someone tested positive.

Also Read: President Joe Biden reverses several Trump policies; here’s what it means according to experts

Those working for the new administration welcome the stricter guidelines now, but they do pose some potential complications as the Biden team builds out its operation. Karen Finney, who was a spokeswoman in the Clinton White House, said the first challenge may simply be creating a cohesiveness and camaraderie when some new staffers are brought on board without ever having worked in the same room.

When you sit in the same office as everyone, it’s just a different dynamic,” she said. There’s a sense of, ’We’ve got each other’s backs, we’re going to be working together on this.’ Finney added that most of the staff are used to working remotely at this point, so it’s not necessarily a new challenge. But she allowed that the national COVID response itself could be somewhat hamstrung by the COVID requirements at the White House.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Biden launches ‘100 days mask challenge’; makes COVID-19 test, quarantine mandatory for people entering US

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US President Joe Biden has signed a series of executive orders to address COVID-19 challenges, including making coronavirus test followed by quarantine mandatory for all travellers coming from overseas. In addition to wearing masks, everyone flying to the United States from another country will need to test before they get on that plane, before they depart, and quarantine when they arrive in America, Biden said at a White House event wherein he signed the orders.

Our national plan launches a full-scale wartime effort to address the supply shortages by ramping up production and protective equipment, syringes, needles, you name it. And when I say wartime, people look at me like wartime? Well, as I said last night, 4,00,000 Americans have died. That’s more than World War II… this is a wartime undertaking, he said. The death toll will likely top 5,00,000 next month, he said, adding that the cases will continue to mount.

”We didn’t get into this mess overnight and it’s going to take months for us to turn things around but let me be equally clear we will get through this, we will defeat this pandemic, and to a nation waiting for action, let me be the clearest on this point, help is on the way, he said.

Unveiling a national strategy on COVID-19 and executive actions to beat the pandemic, Biden said this plan reflects the ideas he set forward during the campaign and they have been further refined over the last three months. The national strategy is comprehensive and detailed, and is based on science and truth not politics and denial, he said. Biden said the plan starts with mounting an aggressive, safe, and effective vaccination campaign to meet the goal of administering 100 million shots in the first 100 days in office. We are on day one. This will be one of the greatest operational challenges our nation has ever undertaken, and I am committed to getting it done; we’re committed to getting it done. We will move heaven and earth to get more people vaccinated for free and create more places for them to get vaccinated to mobilise more medical teams to get shots in people’s arms and to increase vaccine supply and get it out the door as fast as possible, he said. Biden said that he has directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to start standing up the first federally supported community vaccination centres. The goal is to stand up 100 centres within the next month, he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will launch the federal pharmacy programme to make vaccines available to communities beginning early February. We will also task the Department of Health and Human Services to prepare and expand the pool of medical professionals who can administer the vaccine, and ensure that we have enough vaccinators to meet the nation’s needs and quickly, he said. Biden also signed an executive action to use the Defense Production Act and all other available authorities to direct all federal agencies and private industry to accelerate the making of everything that’s needed to protect, test, vaccinate, and take care of people.

Also Read: Biden seeks five-year extension of New START arms treaty with Russia

Biden said that he, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the entire administration will always be honest and transparent with Americans about both the good news and the bad. We will level with you when we make a mistake. We’ll straight up say what happened, he said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Google says it will remove search function in Australia if media code becomes law

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Google said on Friday it will disable its search function in Australia if the government proceeds with a media code that would force it and Facebook Inc to pay local media companies for sharing their content. Australia is on course to pass laws that would make the Big Tech giants negotiate payments with local publishers and broadcasters for content. If they can’t strike a deal, a government-appointed arbitrator will decide the price.

”The code’s arbitration model with bias criteria presents an unmanageable financial and operational risk for Google,” Mel Silva, managing director for Australia and New Zealand, told a Senate committee.

”If this version of the code were to become law, it would give us no real choice but to stop making Google Search available in Australia.”

Australia announced the legislation last month after an investigation found Alphabet Inc-owned Google and social media giant Facebook held too much market power in the media industry, a situation it said posed a potential threat to a well-functioning democracy.

The United States government this week asked Australia to scrap the proposed laws, which have broad political support, and suggested Australia should pursue a voluntary code instead.

Google’s threat to limit its services in Australia came just hours after the internet giant reached a content-payment deal with some French news publishers.

Google’s testimony ”is part of a pattern of threatening behaviour that is chilling for anyone who values our democracy,” said Peter Lewis, director of the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Biden seeks five-year extension of New START arms treaty with Russia

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US President Joe Biden will seek a five-year extension to the New START arms control treaty with Russia, the White House said on Thursday, in one of the first major foreign policy decisions of the new administration ahead of the treaty’s expiration in early February.

”The President has long been clear that the New START treaty is in the national security interests of the United States. And this extension makes even more sense when the relationship with Russia is adversarial as it is at this time,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a briefing.

She also said Biden had ”tasked” the US intelligence community for its full assessment of the Solar Winds cyber breach, Russian interference in the 2020 election, Russia’s use of chemical weapons against opposition leader Alexei Navalny and alleged bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan.

”Even as we work with Russia to advance US interests, so too we work to hold Russia to account for its reckless and adversarial actions,” Psaki said.

The arms control treaty, which is due to expire on Feb. 5, limits the United States and Russia to deploying no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads each.

In addition to restricting the number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons to its lowest level in decades, New START also limits the land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers that deliver them. In a statement, the Pentagon said that Americans were ”much safer” with the treaty intact and extended.

”Just as we engage Russia in ways that advance American interests, we in the Department will remain clear-eyed about the challenges Russia poses and committed to defending the nation against their reckless and adversarial actions,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

The treaty’s lapse would end all restraints on deployments of U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear warheads and the delivery systems that carry them, potentially fueling a new arms race, policy experts have said.

Earlier, a source familiar with the decision told Reuters that US lawmakers have been briefed on Biden’s decision on the New START treaty.

Also Read: Can Joe Biden lead the US away from Trumpism?

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it remained committed to extending New START and would welcome efforts promised by the Biden administration to reach an agreement.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow