Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, March 11, 2021

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

2:18 P.M. EST

MS. PSAKI: Hi, everyone. Thanks for your patience. A little delayed today, but for good reason. So I have a couple of items at the top.

As you know, tonight the President will deliver his first primetime address to the American people at 8:00 p.m. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the shutdown due to COVID-19, and the President will speak directly to the American people about the sacrifices made — from the more than 500,000 lives lost, to the millions of people who are lost — have lost their jobs, and the even millions more who have been impacted by the pandemic.

He’ll provide an update on the work of his team to address the greatest operational challenge the country has faced and the work his team has done to rapidly increase the number of vaccinations — vaccines, vaccinators, and vaccination sites. And he will lay out the next steps he will take to get the pandemic under control.

Even while he was focused on getting the American Rescue Plan across the finish line, he has been reviewing drafts of the speech — last week, he was and, of course, through the course of this week — and making line edits. He has been providing line edits in order to ensure that he is striking the right tone and providing the right level of clarity as he prepares to address the country this evening.

He plans to provide a clear outline of his approach, level with the American people about what is required of them, but also provide a sense of hope of what is possible.

I wanted to provide a little bit more on upcoming travel, as you — of all of our principals, as we worked — as we prepare to go out and engage with the American people about what is in the Rescue Plan. As you know, next week, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady, and the Second Gentleman will be traveling across the country to kick off the “Help is Here” tour and amplify the American Rescue Plan.

On Monday, the First Lady will travel to Burlington, New Jersey. The Vice President and Second Gentleman will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada.

On Tuesday, the President will travel to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, as you already are aware. The Vice President and Second Gentleman will travel to Denver, Colorado.

On Wednesday, the Second Gentleman will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

And on Friday, the President and the Vice President will travel to Atlanta, Georgia.

During their trips, they will discuss the benefits of the American Rescue Plan for working families, and they will engage with people at each of these stops about how the American people can benefit from the components of the package moving forward. So they will talk about the $1,400 checks that more than — that 158.5 million American households can expect, in which — and many who will start receiving them soon.

He will talk about the historic expansion of the Child Tax Credit. He will talk about extending — they will all talk about extending unemployment insurance for around 11 million Americans; the tens of billions of dollars in rental and homeowner’s assistance that is a part of this package; the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which will go to 17 million workers; and the components of the package that significantly reduce health insurance premiums for millions of American families. And, of course, the fact that the bill will lift 11 million people out of poverty and cut child poverty in half. They’re eager to get out there on the road.

And I have one more exciting implementation update for all of you. Since the Treasury Department — Department of Treasury and the IRS are working hard to get relief payments out the door as fast as possible to the American people, people can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their back accounts as early as this weekend. This is, of course, just the first wave, but some — people will start — some people in the country will start seeing those — those direct deposits in their bank accounts this weekend. And payments to eligible Americans will continue throughout the course of the next several weeks.

So, with that, Jonathan, why don’t you kick us off?


 * Q Thank you, Jen. Tomorrow, the Chief of Staff tweeted, there’ll still be a celebration, in terms of this bill signing.  Congressional leaders would be attending.  Can you tell us who will be there, and if any Republicans — who none of them voted for this bill — would be invited?
 * MS. PSAKI: So, the celebration tomorrow will be a bipartisan — I mean a bicameral, excuse me, event, but it will not be bipartisan. It will be — it will include leadership, and we are still finalizing the list of attendees, but we hope to get that to you as soon as it’s finalized.


 * Q Can you walk us through, as part of the “Help is Here” tour, decisions behind the locations for the travel next week, in particular, the President’s two stops? Why Pennsylvania and why Georgia?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, this is just the beginning of the President’s and the First Lady’s and the Vice President’s and the Second Gentleman’s travel, and they will, of course, do some travel in addition to next week. But it was important to the President to visit not just blue states, but also red states, purple states.  You will see that reflected as we continue to announce travel and trips that he will take in the coming weeks.


 * Q And I have one more on a — on a different topic&colon; The trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has begun in connection to the death of George Floyd. Has the President been briefed on the developments so far?  And he condemned the death, certainly, when it happened.  Does he believe that police officers should be convicted of murder?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, the President obviously doesn’t weigh into — he’s not going to weigh into an ongoing judicial — or a legal case. He’s watching it closely, as are many members of the administration.


 * Q Jen, just a follow-up on some the vaccine news from yesterday. The President said that one reason he wanted to have another 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the cupboards, as it were, is to be prepared.  If everyone is vaccinated by the end of May, or at least able to be, what are you preparing for?  What might happen that the U.S. would need an additional 100 million shots for?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, we talked about this a little bit yesterday. But the reason why — one of the reasons why we ordered the additional 100 million doses is because we don’t yet know what vaccine is most effective with children.  Those tests — that testing is still happening with the FDA, as we speak.


 * Q My understanding is the President directed this to happen yesterday, but the deal is not — with J&J, isn’t yet in place. When do you expect the deal to be made?
 * MS. PSAKI: Soon. I can get you an update.  I can check with our team and see if there’s — what the final details are, but we certainly anticipate and expect the deal to fully move forward.


 * Q Just one other vaccine question related to a story that my colleagues did from Europe. Has the U.S. told the European Union not to expect deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca that are made in this country?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, I would say, first we have conveyed privately what we’ve conveyed publicly, which is that our focus is on ensuring the American people are vaccinated. And, of course, any company can work with any country around the world on the purchase of vaccine supply.  And certainly that wouldn’t be something the U.S. government would be directly engaged with.


 * Q Yeah, you’ve said that a lot. But have there been any specific indications or conversations with the EU, saying, “Don’t expect this to come from our country, at least until the rest of this population is vaccinated”?
 * MS. PSAKI: We have pretty — we have said that — we have said publicly exactly what I’ve conveyed, which is what I’m conveying as we convey the same thing privately. Of course, any country can purchase vaccines from these manufacturers directly.


 * Q Thank you. Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says the people coming into the U.S. right now see Biden — President Biden as the “migrant President.”  Does the White House take that as a compliment?
 * MS. PSAKI: The migrant — give me a little more context.


 * Q Well, he said, “They see him as the migrant President and so many feel — so many feel they’re going to reach the United States… We need to work together to regulate the flow, because this business can’t be tackled from one day to the next.”
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, first, it’s — Mexico will have to be — is an important partner in ensuring we’re addressing the flow of migrants from Central America through Mexico and many to the border of the United States. We have conveyed privately and publicly, as well, that the majority of people who come to our border will be turned away.


 * Q Okay. And then, in terms of keeping COVID out of the country, does the White House think that it’s a problem that travelers have to show a negative COVID test — proof of a negative COVID test when they fly into the U.S. from any foreign country, but travelers don’t need to show anything like that when they just walk across the border, as long as they don’t go to a port of entry?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, I think there’s been a lot of confusion about what’s been happening at the border, as it relates to people who are coming across and what happens when they come across. And I know Governor Abbott down in Texas has expressed some of his concerns, and many of those have not been based in fact.


 * Q But not asking about Governor Abbott; asking about President Biden in charge of the federal government&colon; Why are the feds relying on NGOs to administer these tests? We’ve talked to people down at the border who say that migrants are only tested if they show symptoms.  That seems like a loophole.
 * MS. PSAKI: That’s not an accurate depiction. There is — there’s an important role that NGOs, that local mayors, that local officials play in working together.  And this is a proposal that was worked with DHS, with FEMA, and others to help address and ensure that people are tested.  And Governor Abbott — I raise that simply because he had raised a concern about that, and I wanted to be clear that we’ve put forward a proposal.


 * Q But again, just a question about Biden-administration policy.
 * MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.


 * Q COVID is COVID. COVID at the Dulles Airport customs is the same as COVID in a border town.  So I’m curious why it is that it’s enforced for people flying in from other countries, but it is not a requirement by the federal government to test — or to prove a negative test anywhere along the border except at a port of entry.
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, again, I can just describe to you what our policies are. If there’s more to convey to you, I’m happy to do that.


 * Q And then, just one quick one on green jobs. You guys have talked a lot about tackling the climate crisis while creating good-paying jobs.  Now the president of the Texas AFL-CIO has come out to say, “Someone working in a refinery leaving to go install solar panels, they’re probably going to take a 75 percent cut in pay.”  Is that something the administration is aware of?
 * MS. PSAKI: I’m not sure which jobs are being compared there. Here — here’s what I can convey to you: The President is committed, during his presidency, to invest in — work with labor unions, with climate activists, with a range of — with the industry to invest in good-paying, clean energy jobs.


 * Q High-paying, good-paying — but equal-paying?
 * MS. PSAKI: High-paying, good-paying jobs. I think we’re comparing —


 * Q Equal to what they’re —
 * MS. PSAKI: — a little bit of — I’m not sure what specific jobs you’re comparing. What I’m conveying is the commitment to ensuring that jobs in the clean energy industry will be high-paying union jobs.  That’s what the President’s objective and commitment is to.


 * Q The White House has said that President Biden wants to look ahead to a return to normal in his speech tonight. But how does he do that while also striking the balance that 1,500 Americans, on average, are still dying from coronavirus every single day?
 * MS. PSAKI: You’re absolutely right, Kaitlan, that his objective is to strike exactly that balance. And this is one of the reasons that he has been line — line editing this speech for the last week plus — to ensure that he is conveying — that he is leveling with the American people; that he is delivering on his commitment to being truthful about the challenges that we continue to face, what is going to be required of the American public to get to a return to normalcy, as you conveyed.  But he also wants to provide a sense of hope and what’s possible if we abide by the guidelines; if when you have access to a vaccine, you get the vaccine — what people can look forward to.


 * Q So should we expect like concrete steps and policy changes in this speech tonight?
 * MS. PSAKI: I think you can expect — you know, this is his first opportunity — primetime, of course — to really speak directly to the public. You — we all have a conversation about a lot of these issues every single day.


 * Q And since he’s just signed this bill, has he decided who is going to oversee the implementation of it?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, we invite them to work with us on the agenda moving forward. Because clearly, the bill that the President just signed into law is something that the American people are excited about, that people will benefit from as soon as this weekend, as we conveyed.  And we are hopeful that as the President talks about his Build Back Better agenda, has more meetings with members of Congress, we’ll have more people on board from both sides of the aisle.


 * Q And regarding who’s overseeing?
 * MS. PSAKI: Oh, you know, we are — as I mentioned yesterday, the President absolutely is committed to having a person who ru- — is running point on it. I don’t have any personnel announcements today.


 * Q And one last question on the border. The administration has refused to call it a “crisis,” instead referring to it as a “challenge” and saying what you call it doesn’t make a difference on how you’re responding to it.
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, I think what Ambassador Jacobson and Secretary Mayorkas were conveying, and what I’ve conveyed is: It doesn’t matter what you call it. It is an enormous challenge.  It is something that is front and center for the President.


 * Q But aren’t those the steps that you would take if it was a crisis that you had on your hands?
 * MS. PSAKI: These are the policies we’re taking to address what we feel is a vital human challenge at the border. But what our responsibility here is to do is to project and convey what policies we’re taking, what the President’s commitment is.  That’s exactly what we’re doing, and we don’t see the need to put new labels.


 * Q Jen, thank you. No Republicans voted for the COVID relief package.  And they argue that this is the sixth package, and it adds to a deficit that’s already a trillion dollars this year alone.  What do you say to that criticism that, ultimately, this type of a sweeping piece of legislation will be a drag on the economy down the line?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, I would say to them we’re in the midst of twin crises, from the pandemic to an economic downturn that is impacting tens of millions of people in this country. People are struggling to make ends meet.  They are worried about whether their grandparents, their cousins, their friends are able to get a vaccine.  And they are suffering because they’re worried about the mental health of their kids who aren’t back in school yet.


 * Q When you look forward at the rest of the agenda that President Biden has laid out, how do you get even moderate Democrats on board with another big piece of legislation — for example, his climate plan that has a price tag of $2 trillion?
 * MS. PSAKI: There’s no price tag on a plan that doesn’t exist yet. So they’re —


 * Q That’s what he laid out during his campaign.
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, sure, but he also laid out many components of his Build Back Better agenda during his campaign and we don’t — we haven’t made a final decision yet as to what the format, the size, what the next proposal will be. It’s not even something that has been brought to him for a decision quite yet.  Obviously, he’s had a lot of discussions and meetings to hear from Republicans and Democrats, but we’re just not at that point in the process yet.


 * Q And I know you’re not going to weigh in on the specifics of what he’s going to tackle next, but given that this was not a bipartisan piece of legislation and given that the President said that unity was one of the key things he wanted to try to accomplish, is he going to try to move forward on a piece of legislation where he thinks he can get bipartisan support? In other words, how is that going to factor into his decision-making process?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, the President would, of course, love to have bipartisan support, and there are areas of policymaking that he has talked about quite a bit — as you noted, some of them on the campaign trail, including infrastructure. Modernizing our immigration system has actually historically been a bipartisan policy-making issue.  He had a meeting on cancer and addressing cancer and tackling cancer, of course.


 * Q If I can try one more time on the issue at the border. Just to follow up on the comments of the Mexican President, who said that the surge in unaccompanied migrants is because they see the President as the “migrant President”&colon; What does that say about how the President is handling this situation?
 * MS. PSAKI: Look, I think the President has been clear, as has every member of our administration — you had Ambassador Jacobson doing this the other day — that the border is not open. Now is not the time to come.  We turn away the vast majority of people who come to the border — the vast, vast majority.  These numbers are put out by CBP and the Department of Homeland Security, and people can see those numbers.


 * Q Does the message need to be even clearer though? Yesterday, Ambassador Jacobson acknowledged that, yes — she said in her own words — you’re “trying to walk and chew gum at the same time.”
 * MS. PSAKI: Yeah —


 * Q Does there need to be a more streamlined message in order to prevent this surge?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, she also talked about, Kristen — which is true — in the region, we’re — we’re working against the efforts of smugglers and others who are conveying a different message.


 * Q One follow-up on Jeff’s question on the discussions with the EU.
 * MS. PSAKI: Sure.


 * Q On the — well, I don’t know if it’s necessarily an export ban, but the EU is saying the U.S. request was denied to export vaccines. But specifically on the AstraZeneca one, that’s not yet authorized in the U.S. and the U.S. hasn’t sought authorization.  So why are you guys sitting on these doses that could be used in the EU now, because it’s already authorized there, but not here?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, we don’t — we’re not sitting — I’m not sure which doses you’re talking about that we’re sitting on.


 * Q There’s a report out of — out of Europe that the U.S. told the European Union that they cannot expect any AstraZeneca shipments anytime soon.
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, we don’t — we don’t own purchases — we didn’t purchase AstraZeneca supplies. I mean, so, the — there’s no export prohibitions.  And all vaccine manufacturers in the United States are free to export their products while also fulfilling the terms of their contracts with the U.S. government.


 * Q So is — in any of these government contracts with the individual companies, are there specific export prohibitions — if it’s not an export ban overall — in the contracts that the U.S. government has with these companies?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, our — but you’re talking about whether we’re going to give our supply to other countries. Right?  Or are you talking about whether these countries — or whether these manufacturers are going to sell doses to other countries?


 * Q Correct.
 * MS. PSAKI: The second?


 * Q Whether the — sorry, say that again.
 * MS. PSAKI: So, I’m just trying to understand. So, are you talking about whether these companies are allowed to sell doses of their drug — of their —


 * Q Well, I’m talking about how it’s almost like a triangle — right? — because these companies have contracts with the U.S. government that say, “You have to fulfill this contract with us.”
 * MS. PSAKI: Right.


 * Q And so, is any of that prohibiting, then, exports of any of the doses produced here to the European Union?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, as I just conveyed, there’s no — these are not export prohibitions. Vaccine manufacturers in the United States are free to export their products while also fulfilling the terms of our contracts.  There are — there are supply that they are producing for the United States, but they can also work with other countries and —


 * Q Sorry, now I think I —
 * MS. PSAKI: Okay.


 * Q — now we’re on the same level.
 * MS. PSAKI: Okay.


 * Q So, the contracts that you have with these companies, are there any specific — is there a specific provision in those contracts that would say, “You cannot export until you fulfill our contractual obligation with the U.S. government”?
 * MS. PSAKI: I don’t have any more details of the contracts, but obviously these companies can work with other countries on selling their products. Manufacturers can work with them to — with these countries directly.


 * Q Yeah, one other topic — completely different. You just said, again, the President hasn’t yet made a decision on the next legislative package or what it will be and —
 * MS. PSAKI: Yeah.


 * Q — when it will be unveiled. There’s a seems to be a little bit of momentum, led by Senate Majority Leader Schumer, on a package that is like a broad, sort of, China — countering-China package.  Is the White House coordinating with the Senate Democrats on this?  Are you in touch with them?  And is the President sort of actively going to engage with this effort —
 * MS. PSAKI: With the — with the proposal by Senator Schumer?


 * Q Correct. He — there was —
 * MS. PSAKI: I am certain if Senator Schumer —


 * Q — a report yesterday —
 * MS. PSAKI: — wants to discuss it with him, he’s happy to discuss it with the sen- — with Senator Schumer — with Leader Schumer. But I would expect the President’s agenda, moving forward, will reflect the Build Back Better agenda that he talked about on the campaign trail.  But the order, the size, the timeline has not yet been determined.


 * Q Thanks, Jen. I have a couple of foreign policy questions —
 * MS. PSAKI: Okay.


 * Q — specifically on Africa. But I just want to pick up something that you discussed with — earlier about the Central American Minors program.
 * MS. PSAKI: Sure.


 * Q I just want to make sure that I understand you correctly, that you were presenting that as sort of like an immediate solution to what’s happening at the border by saying that this will take about 3,000 kids. Well, what I don’t understand is that, first of all, what’s going to be processed are the kids who were already in the process — and it was stopped in 2017 — and then the State Department will continue to process new applications.  So that process, in itself, takes months, no?
 * MS. PSAKI: The — they will be prioritized. The process was stopped, as you noted, in 2017, and the kids who were eligible then will be prioritized.


 * Q So it’s not an immediate solution to what’s happening on the border?
 * MS. PSAKI: I don’t think I said that. I don’t have a timeline for you, but it is what — well, I actually — if you were listening earlier, I gave a number of steps, actually.  That’s one of the steps.


 * Q Thank you for clarifying that. Now, on the issue of Africa, does the President share the assessment of Secretary Blinken that what’s happening on the Western Tigray Region of Ethiopia is “ethnic cleansing”?  Does the President have any specific view on the particular role of Prime Minister Abiy in this conflict?  And is the U.S. considering any kind of action, beyond urging the Ethiopian government to stop sending their forces?
 * MS. PSAKI: Yeah, I got an update on this from my team earlier, so let me just see what I have here to update you on.


 * Q Another topic, still on the continent.
 * MS. PSAKI: Sure.


 * Q On the issue — still on Ethiopia, actually — the Trump administration was very much engaged in mediating the conflict between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan on the issue of the Nile dam. Is the Biden administration willing to continue mediation process, as has been requested by Ethiopia — sorry, by Sudan and Egypt?
 * MS. PSAKI: I would send you to the State Department. They’d be more directly involved at this stage.


 * Q One more. One more Africa question.
 * MS. PSAKI: Okay.


 * Q Western Sahara — also, President Trump, as you know, recognized sovereignty — Morocco’s sovereignty of the Western Sahara region. Now Spain is asking for a U.N. resolution or U.N.-brokered solutions.  Spain is a former col- — colonizer of Western Sahara, asking for a U.N.-brokered solution on this issue.  Has the administration completed its review on this particular Trump deal?  Because it does, you know, deal with the overall Abraham Accords policy.  And what is your position on it?
 * MS. PSAKI: As you know, we are reviewing all of the — many Trump positions, including the Abraham Accords. But I don’t have an update today for you on it.


 * Q Yeah. I just wanted to go back to the border.
 * MS. PSAKI: Sure.


 * Q My colleagues reported yesterday that the administration is looking at a NASA facility in California to house some of these unaccompanied children. Can you talk a little bit about the plan to identify and find space for them? What — what sort of facilities are you looking at?
 * MS. PSAKI: I don’t have a list of facilities, but I will convey that we are — or reiterate that part of our effort and our focus and what we’re prioritizing is identifying and assessing licensed facilities that can help add safe capacity for these children.


 * Q Okay. And then on the trip with princ- — with all of the principals, kind of, crisscrossing the country next week —
 * MS. PSAKI: Yeah.


 * Q — it’s an interesting list of states. I think you said “purple,” at least.  I’m wondering, even though that this relief package has no support here, what have you been hearing — or what do you expect to hear from Republicans in these states?  Do you expect to be received by them at all?  Have you heard much — like have you —
 * MS. PSAKI: Republicans, like local elected or —


 * Q Yeah. Mm-hmm.
 * MS. PSAKI: Look, I think what we saw, even during the effort to pass the American Rescue Plan, is that there are 400 governors and mayors across the country — many of them Republican. We had a Republican mayor come here and talk to you all about how vital and important this was to his community.


 * Q Could I ask another quick one?
 * MS. PSAKI: Sure.


 * Q I’m just curious. I know the President has speechwriters, but were you around him when he was working on this speech?  Like, who were the advisors around him that have weighed in and pitched in ideas and helped him edit?
 * MS. PSAKI: Sure. Look, I think — you know, the President has been doing this a while and certainly he had a good sense of what he wanted to convey.  And he is someone who is a — you know, a — an anti- — an anti-acronyms advocate, so he wants to explain things with clarity and with directness to the American people.


 * Q So the President has visited Wisconsin and Michigan. He’s going to visit Pennsylvania and Georgia.  Has there been a special emphasis on him visiting presidential battleground states in the early days of his presidency?
 * MS. PSAKI: No. He did win a lot of states, so I will say that.  He — you will see him visit red states, states he did not win; of course, blue states, and states he did not visit during the campaign, as well.  So that is certainly part of his desire and interest and commitment, and something we’ve also talked about quite a bit.  Because he is committed to governing for all of the American people, not just people in blue states or swing states or purple states or whatever color you want to call them, and that is something he has a great interest in doing.


 * Q If I can ask just an unrelated question. So, the relief bill includes subsidies for the healthcare exchanges and COBRA coverage.  The President, during the campaign, talked about also implementing a universal public option, lowering the Medicare age to 60.  Does he still plan to pursue those policy initiatives, and when can we expect to hear more on that from him?
 * MS. PSAKI: Yes. I mean, we’re only on day 50.  We’ve got a lot more time to go here.  Buckle up.


 * Q Thank you. Last June, then-candidate Biden said, “looking ahead in the first 100 days of my presidency, I’ve committed to creating a national police oversight commission.” Is that something that he still intends to establish within the first 100 days?
 * MS. PSAKI: He does. We have 50 days left.  Look at all we’ve accomplished in 50 days.  We have much more to — much more to happen in the next 50.


 * Q Is there a timeline for when he will be —
 * MS. PSAKI: I don’t have a timeline for you. You know, this, of course — because when he came in, he knew that taking steps to get — you know, addressing the pandemic — under control — to get relief out to the American people had to be what he spent his time doing.  But, of course, there’s a lot he wants to do to address the “four crises,” as he’s defined them, that are facing the country, and racial inequality is certainly one of them.  He talked about, as you mentioned, the police commission when he was running, and certainly there’s a lot more that he would like to get done from his agenda.


 * Q Can I just ask one more question about the American Rescue Plan?
 * MS. PSAKI: Yeah.


 * Q I’m following up on Kaitlan’s question. You said that some of the money is starting to go out as soon as this weekend.
 * MS. PSAKI: Yeah.


 * Q So why has the White House not yet announced the person overseeing the implementation of the bill, and when can we expect that announcement? And then, once that person is appointed, how will that person be working with the various inspectors general at the agencies and the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to ensure adequate oversight?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, it doesn’t — you know, the President believes it’s a model, looking back at the Recovery Act, where having a person who can pull all the levers of government and engage with mayors and, you know, le- — city leaders and community leaders is an effective means of ensuring that implementation is efficient moving forward.


 * Q Will that person be working with the inspectors general in the various agencies, though, to make sure that the money is going out as smoothly as possible and that there’s no — I mean, I know that a lot of watchdog groups raised —
 * MS. PSAKI: Yeah.


 * Q — raised issues with how the money was dispersed under agencies in the Trump administration. So will the person overseeing implementation be looking at that to make sure that that (inaudible)?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, reducing waste, fraud, and abuse, and preventing it is certainly a priority for the President. He’s already taken steps to address that in this — in the last 50 days.  And certainly, when he was overseeing the Recovery Act, that was a priority for him.  So I’m certain that, as we look to implementation, that will continue to be a focus of his as well.


 * Q Yeah. A question about the first meeting today of the U.S.-Israel Strategic Group.  How important is it to President Biden that the — sort of the U.S. strategy on Iran be coordinated with Israel, given the fact that the Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, doesn’t like the deal, has been very vocal about it?
 * MS. PSAKI: We feel that — you noticed — you noted a strategy — or a meeting today, I should say — that many here may not be aware of. I can share more details on that.


 * Q So are you trying to, kind of, avoid some of the public acrimony that was evidenced when Joe Biden was Vice President? It’s very clear that Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t like this deal.
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, it was clear for some time. And then once it was in place, I think, many countries in the region were happy to have the direct visibility into what Iran was doing — to have inspectors on the ground.


 * Q Just to follow up, though&colon; How concerned is it — is President Biden of statements coming out of Israel — for example, from the head of the IDF who said military option is still on the table, but he thinks it’s a bad idea to get back to this deal? I mean, is the United States worried that the relationship with Israel could draw the United States into some sort of armed conflict with Iran?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, we’ve been clear that we feel the best path forward is a diplomatic path. And that’s why we are working with our European partners to see what is possible along that front.


 * Q And just very quickly — the last question&colon; Obviously, there are imminent elections in Israel as well as Iran. Is the, sort of, strategy right now to, kind of, wait until the outcome of those elections and know who you’re dealing with moving forward?
 * MS. PSAKI: No, I would say the strategy is to work in close coordination with our European partners, who will continue to be key partners as part of the P5+1, as is Russia and China, should there be a diplomatic — and we’re hopeful there’s a diplomatic path forward.


 * Q Congressman John Yarmuth seemed to think the other day that the President’s budget might not be coming until May. When does the President plan to release his 2022 budget blueprint?  And when he does, will he submit a plan that balances in a 10-year window?
 * MS. PSAKI: I don’t have any predictions for you on the timeline of the budget. As we talked about a bit during the transition, because of some of the intransigence of political appointees during the transition period, we already anticipated it would be delayed back in December and January.


 * Q And on — does the President support congressional Democrats’ push to restore earmarking? Is that a way to sort of foster bipartisanship after this $1.9 trillion package that didn’t get any Republican support?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, we don’t have a package yet that we’re talking about, that we are working through with Congress. Obviously, the President spent 36 years in the Senate, and he is quite familiar with the role of earmarks.  But I don’t — when we have a package to announce and we’re talking about the legislative strategy, we can probably talk about it more.


 * Q Is that — I mean — because Democrats are making the case that this will — you know, it’s a way to get Republicans to support spending bills, things along those lines. Is that the White House’s view?  Is earmarking a potential path to sort of break some of this gridlock?
 * MS. PSAKI: We just don’t have a legislative package we’re even talking about here. So when we do, we can have a discussion about what the legislative strategy is, but we’re not at that point.  We just signed into law — the President just signed into law today a $1.9 trillion package that he is looking forward to implementing.  That’s our focus.


 * Q And on the four- —
 * MS. PSAKI: Oh, go ahead.


 * Q I’m so sorry. One more.
 * MS. PSAKI: Go ahead. You’re fine. Go ahead.


 * Q On the $1,400 checks&colon; Consumer advocates are raising concerns that private debt collectors might be able to intercept part of it, because, apparently, language protected that in the last round of $600 checks, but because of the budget reconciliation process, senators had cut that out. Will the President support standalone legislation?  I think Senator Wyden says he’s going to be working on that.
 * MS. PSAKI: I’m not sure if there are technical corrections needed; I’d have to talk to the Department of Treasury about that. I mean, in terms of the checks, 90 percent of them, about, will go via direct deposit to people’s bank accounts that they have because of people paying taxes.


 * Q Thank you. I have a couple of questions.  Last week, President Biden, in his virtual interaction with NASA scientist Dr. Mohan, said that Indian — people of Indian descent “are taking over the country.”  Can you clarify that — what he meant by that?  Because there have been some criticism by his opponents on his remarks.
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, I would first say that, the President was just recognizing and honoring and valuing — or this was his intention — the incredible contribution of Indian Americans to science. He was speaking to a — an Indian American woman who is, of course, a scientist and an important part of the NASA team.  And he also was, of course, recognizing the incredible contribution of his own Vice President.


 * Q And a number of Indian Americans who came to this country as legal immigrants and want to make this as a home, they feel that this administration is not much focused on resolving the issues related to legal immigrants; rather, they are more focused on illegal immigrants. What do you have to say on that?
 * MS. PSAKI: I would say they — we should — you should write an article about how the President’s immigration bill proposes a number of fixes or changes in the legal and legislative system to ensure that those issues are addressed, and we’re eager to move that forward with members of both parties.


 * Q I have, on China, a question.
 * MS. PSAKI: Okay.


 * Q Today is the 50th day, and tomorrow the President is addressing the Quad leader summit. And a few days later, the Secretary of State and NSA are having their bilateral meetings in Anchorage, Alaska, on China.  After 50 days, what are your major asks from China?  What do you want China to do so that you improve the relationship that the United States has with them?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, I would expect, obviously, this — this meeting next week, we felt it was important to have it on U.S. soil. We certainly anticipate that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Tony Blinken will be discussing both the challenges we’ve had in not holding back on issues and concerns we have — we have with the behavior of Chinese leadership, whether it’s on Taiwan, or recent, you know, efforts to push back democracy in Hong Kong, or on concerns we have about the economic relationships.


 * Q And a foreign journalist colleague of mine (inaudible) has sent me a question for you. The International Olympics Committee today announced that China will provide vaccination for athletes, teams, and attendees of the Tokyo Olympic Games.  What is the response to — what is the response to IOC’s announcement?  Does this — the administration recommend the U.S. athletes and attendees get vaccination from the Chinese?
 * MS. PSAKI: I would have to — I would send you to the internat- — the U.S. Olympic Committee. We, of course, are working to ensure that the American people are — have access to vaccines.  We’ll have enough to vaccine — vaccinate, I should say, all American adults by the end of May.  Certainly that includes Olympic athletes, but I would refer you to them on their plans for vaccinating athletes.


 * Q Thanks, Jen. A couple on topics we haven’t touched on yet.  But Politico ran a poll yesterday — I’m not sure if you saw it — finding that 53 percent of Americans think that there should be a ban on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.  Included in that were 40 percent of Democratic respondents, who agreed that there should be a ban, and 49 percent of independents.
 * MS. PSAKI: The opinions in the poll?


 * Q Yeah —
 * MS. PSAKI: Well —


 * Q — people who have voiced support for banning transgender athletes from women’s sports.
 * MS. PSAKI: I did not conduct the poll, nor was a part of the polling committee that had conversations with people. What I can convey to you is that the President believes, regardless of this poll in Politico — did you say Politico, I guess?


 * Q Politico and the Morning Consult. Yeah.
 * MS. PSAKI: I didn’t see the poll or the article, but —


 * Q It was in “Playbook.”
 * MS. PSAKI: I didn’t read “Playbook.” But I — but I — the President believes that transgender rights are human rights, that kids should not be discriminated against, and should be able to play sports.  And that continues to be his belief and that hasn’t changed.  But I’m not going to guess or attribute motive to the people who have responded to that poll or any poll actually.


 * Q And then on the House’s passage of these gun violence legislation bills today&colon; Has the — has the White House been actively courting Republican Senators to vote yay for this? Obviously, from a numbers standpoint, it’s going to be a lot harder to pass there than in the House.
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, first, you know, the President is someone who is personally committed to addressing gun violence and working to put in place gun safety measures. He has called on Congress to act.  He supports Congress acting.  He is looking forward to working with them to advance priorities, including repealing gun manufacturers’ liability shields.


 * Q And then —


 * Q Thanks, Jen.


 * Q Just one follow-up on the Quad summit tomorrow.
 * MS. PSAKI: Sure.


 * Q Does the President plan on speaking with our allies about ways we can force China to stop the genocide it’s committing against the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang in that summit tomorrow?
 * MS. PSAKI: Well, I know that addressing the genocide against Uyghur Muslims is something that will be a topic of discussion with the Chinese directly next week. But, certainly, this conversation tomorrow — and we’re hoping — I’ve invited National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to come and give you a readout of that meeting.  I know there’s a lot of interest in the Quad summit tomorrow.


 * Q Thank you. Thank you, Jen.

3:20 P.M. EST