First Lady Pool Reports of July 2, 2024

FLOTUS touched down at Lehigh Valley International Airport around 1:40 PM. She stepped off the plane with a big wave and headed down the stairs to hug and take selfies with her greeters:

• Representative Susan Wild
• Representative Nanette Barragán, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair
• Representative Nydia Velázquez, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Member
• Mayor Matt Tuerk, City of Allentown, Pennsylvania
• County Executive Phil Armstrong, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

Motorcade started rolling to first stop, a Congressional Hispanic Caucus on the Road event in Allentown, at 1:50 PM.

Background on the Allentown event, per the First Lady's office:
"First Lady Jill Biden will participate in a Congressional Hispanic Caucus on the Road event at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to expanding pathways to good-paying jobs and uplifting local workforce development initiatives. The visit is part of CHC on the Road, an initiative that creates opportunities for lawmakers and White House officials to engage with Latino communities."

Traveling with the First Lady, per her office:

• Anthony Bernal, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the First Lady
• Neera Tanden, Assistant to the President and Domestic Policy Advisor
• Mala Adiga, Deputy Assistant to the President & Director of Policy & Projects for the First Lady
• Sheila Casey, Executive Director of Joining Forces for the Office of the First Lady
• Jennifer Mishory, Senior Advisor on Workforce Development and Education for the Office of the First Lady
• Vanessa Valdivia, Special Assistant to the President & Press Secretary for the First Lady

First Lady Jill Biden visited Lehigh Carbon Community College in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Tuesday afternoon to attend a Congressional Hispanic Caucus on the Road event.

FLOTUS arrived at Lehigh Valley International Airport at 2:15 PM in an olive-green pantsuit and dark brown stilettos. Lawmakers who participated in the event — Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Nydia Velasquez (D-N.Y.), and Susan Wild (D-Pa) — rode separately from FLOTUS in the motorcade to Lehigh Carbon Community College.

Each lawmaker delivered brief remarks at the start of the event. Wild spoke first and talked about the importance of high-quality education in all stages of life. Velasquez spoke second, addressing the specific utility workforce education programs provide the Latino community.

Barragán introduced FLOTUS. "There is no greater honor than to have the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, with us," she said to applause. "Who better to talk about education issues? She's been not only at the forefront of making sure we talk about education and workforce development but, day in and day out, she's doing that work herself at a community college. So it's so great you were able to make it this time. Just so you know, I've been trying to get on her schedule for a long time — and she is so popular, I'm so glad we're able to get this done today."

FLOTUS began speaking at 2:38 PM. She opened by asking how many attendees were community college employees and whether they were working during the summer. "I'm working too, in a different sense," she said. She thanked the lawmakers and local elected officials for inviting her to speak in Allentown, where Latinos account for more than 50 percent of the population. FLOTUS highlighted the Biden administration's recent executive order "to keep families together and give Dreamers the opportunities to get jobs in the United States," a line that received enthusiastic applause.

FLOTUS said she was there to discuss "education and the pathways to good-paying jobs — because that's how we grow the middle class," she said. She noted the Biden administration's early education efforts, including keeping childcare providers open during the pandemic and pushing to raise pay for early childhood educators. FLOTUS then talked about the White House's "Classroom to Career" program, which allows students to take career-related community college courses while they're still in high school. "For Joe, the answer to 'What's next?' is continuing to make sure education starts early and leads to a good career," she said. Her remarks ended at 2:46 PM.

The speeches were followed by a roundtable, facilitated by Rep. Wild. Dr. Ann Bieber, the president of Lehigh Carbon Community College, talked about how high school students are currently benefiting from enrolling in courses at her school. Victoria Montero, who leads the community workforce development program at St. Luke's Health Network, described St. Luke's career program and how Latino students have benefited from it. The room also heard from Heidee Rosado, an emergency room nurse who went through St. Luke's program. FLOTUS didn't speak during the roundtable, but nodded and smiled to each participant as they spoke.

FLOTUS did not take any questions from reporters following the event. She did a brief interview with Victor Martinez with La Mega Radio, a local Spanish-language outlet.

Full list of roundtable participants, per a White House official:

• First Lady Jill Biden
• Neera Tanden, Director, White House Domestic Policy Council
• Representative Susan Wild
• Representative Nydia Velázquez
• Representative Nanette Barragán
• Dr. Ann Bieber, President, Lehigh Carbon Community College
• Victoria Montero, Network Director, Community Workforce Development, Department of Community Health, St. Luke's University Health Network
• Heidee Rosado, Emergency Room Nurse, St. Luke's Health
• Mayor Matt Tuerk, City of Allentown, Pennsylvania

Additional background on the event, from the White House:

• Event Background: First Lady Jill Biden will participate in a Congressional Hispanic Caucus on the Road event at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to expanding pathways to good-paying jobs and uplifting local workforce development initiatives. The visit is part of CHC on the Road, an initiative that creates opportunities for lawmakers and White House officials to engage with Latino communities. This CHC on the Road stop will be the 11th visit the CHC has made this Congress to high-Latino populated localities.
• Background on Career-Connected Learning: Dr. Biden has traveled the country to highlight key Biden-Harris Administration investments and proposals focused on transforming the high school experience and creating seamless pathways from high school to good-paying jobs, including a new Career-Connected High School grant that provided 19 awards totaling $25 million. The program, funded for the first time through President Biden's FY 2023 budget, aims to build the capacity of state and local education systems to work with employers and develop high-quality career-connected high school programs for more students, leveraging four evidence-based strategies: providing postsecondary education and career guidance; increasing access to dual or concurrent enrollment programs; increasing work-based learning opportunities; and providing opportunities for students to earn industry-recognized credentials. Building on these pilots, the President's FY 2025 budget proposal requests $7.2 billion over 10 years for a new Classroom to Career program. States would provide at least 12 postsecondary credits, at no cost to students, through career-connected dual enrollment to all interested students.
• Background on Lehigh Carbon Community College: Founded in 1966, Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) serves approximately 6,200 students in the eastern Pennsylvania community (encompassing the regions Schnecksville, Allentown, Tamaqua, and Lehigh Valley). LCCC is a Hispanic-Serving Institution, which is an institution of higher education that has an enrollment of undergraduate full-time students that is at least 25% Hispanic.

FLOTUS arrived at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, MI, around 5:45 PM.

Greeting the First Lady at the airport, per a White House aide:

• Representative Hillary Scholten
• James Dale Scholten-Holcomb, son of Representative Hillary Scholten
• Wesley Harris Scholten-Holcomb, son of Representative Hillary Scholten
• Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Rep. Scholten's son James handed FLOTUS a bouquet when she stepped off the plane. The group hugged and posed for photographs together before the motorcade rolled out.