White House says President Biden to host a bipartisan American Jobs Plan meeting

Listen to this article

The White House press secretary said a bipartisan meeting about American Jobs Plan will take place on Tuesday afternoon. President Joe Biden and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will host a meeting in the Oval Office with a bipartisan group of representatives and senators who are former mayors and governors. The WH press secretary Jen Psaki said, “There are, of course, more former mayors and governors than just this group; we will likely welcome them in the future as well.  But the President is looking forward to tapping into their experience and expertise overseeing local communities and states.  Hence, this is the group he’ll be meeting with today. They’ll discuss the American Jobs Plan, the critical need for investment in our nation’s infrastructure”.

Psaki also said, “Their state and local executive experience, combined with their legislative experience, provides, in the President’s view, an important perspective on how to invest in our roads, bridges, railways, and infrastructure across the country”. She also pointed out that the Department of Housing and Urban Development is today announcing the obligation of $8.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation funds for Puerto Rico. Psaki added, “The Department will also terminate onerous restrictions unique to Puerto Rico that limit the island’s access to these funds that were allocated following Hurricane Maria in September. These actions are the latest in an ongoing, whole-of-government effort to support the island’s recovery and renewal. She said today is an exciting day; we enter a new phase of our vaccination program and our effort to put the pandemic behind us.

Press secretary said it is starting today, everyone 16 years and older, in every state, is eligible for the vaccine. Psaki said, “Thanks to the aggressive action we have taken through our wartime whole-of-government response, we have enough vaccine supply for all adults to get vaccinated; thousands of vaccinators, we will have, I should say, thousands of vaccinators ready to get people vaccinated; and more than 60,000 places, convenient places for people to get their shot. So, more than half of all adults in America have now received at least one shot. More than 32% of adults are now fully vaccinated. 81% of seniors have at least one, and just about two-thirds are fully vaccinated”. She also confirmed that at least 90% of Americans now have a vaccine site within 5 miles of where they live.