Pool Reports of October 1, 2024

In-town pool #1 — port statement

From the White House:

President Biden and Vice President Harris are closely monitoring the strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The President has directed his team to convey his message directly to both sides that they need to be at the table and negotiating in good faith—fairly and quickly. On Monday, at the President's direction, Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard convened USMX board members and urged them to resolve this in a way that accounts for the success of these companies in recent years and the invaluable contributions of ILA workers. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, and National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard have been in direct contact with both USMX and the ILA on the President's behalf to keep the negotiations moving forward. On Friday, theymet with USMX representatives at the White House and urged them to come to a fair agreement. Senior White House and Administration officials continue to work around the clock to get both sides to continue negotiating towards a resolution. The President and Vice President believe collective bargaining is the best way for both American workers and employers to come to a fair agreement.

President Biden and Vice President Harris are closely monitoring potential supply chain impacts and assessing ways to address potential impacts, if necessary. The President and Vice President were briefed on Agency assessments that show impacts on consumers are expected to be limited at this time, including in the important areas of fuel, food, and medicine. The President has directed his Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to meet every day and prepare to address potential disruptions, if necessary. He has also directed his team to continue engaging extensively with labor, industry, state and local officials, ocean carriers, and rail and trucking companies. The Administration has already conducted dozens of meetings with industry on their plans, including multiple meetings with retailers, grocers, manufacturers, agriculture. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has developed a comprehensive whole-of-government approach to monitor and address potential supply chain impacts, from severe weather to transport service interruptions to this spring's Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.

Below are agency assessments of current supply chain impacts:

Department of Transportation (DOT)

"On Monday, DOT officials met with businesses that will be affected by labor disputes to continue their ongoing dialogue about impacts to the supply chain and provide an update on the Administration's efforts to encourage the parties to negotiate in good faith. Since early summer, DOT's Multimodal Freight Office has been engaged with shippers, ocean carriers, ports, railroads, and other supply chain partners on the potential impact of a strike. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, DOT has established strong relationships across the supply chain to address bottlenecks—from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to the closure of the Port of Baltimore—and continues to communicate with partners on every level of the supply chain. Our Administration supports collective bargaining as the best way for workers and employers to come to a fair agreement, and we encourage all parties to come to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith—fairly and quickly."

Department of Energy (DOE)

"The Administration is taking action to monitor and address potential impacts on consumers of labor disputes at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The strike at these ports will not impact crude oil, gasoline, natural gas, and other liquid fuel exports and imports, as such operations are handled by other workers. Therefore, the strike will not have any immediate impact on fuel supplies or prices. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in coordination with the White House and other government agencies, will continue partnering with oil and gas companies as well as electricity generators and utilities to monitor operations and supply chains. As always, DOE will remain vigilant and proactive to maintain reliable, affordable energy. Our Administration supports collective bargaining as the best way for workers and employers to come to a fair agreement, and we encourage all parties to come to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith—fairly and quickly."

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

"The Administration is taking action to monitor and address potential impacts on consumers due to labor disputes at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. Our analysis shows we should not expect significant changes to food prices or availability in the near term. Thanks to the typically smooth movement through the ports of goods, and our strong domestic agricultural production, we do not expect shortages anytime in the near future for most items. Likewise, non-containerized bulk export shipments, including grains, would be unaffected by this strike. For meat and poultry items that are exported through East and Gulf Coast ports, available storage space and re-direction of products to alternative domestic and international markets can alleviate some of the pressure on farmers and food processors. We are keeping an eye on downstream impacts in the west, and we will continue to monitor and work with industry to respond to potential impacts. Our Administration supports collective bargaining as the best way for workers and employers to come to a fair agreement, and we encourage all parties to come to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith—fairly and quickly."

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

"On Monday, HHS met with trade associations, distributors, manufacturers, and other stakeholders to assess vulnerabilities and supply chain impacts. Current preliminary assessments indicate immediate impacts across medicines, medical devices, and infant formula for consumers, parents, and caregivers should be limited. The Administration is taking action to monitor and address potential impacts on consumers of labor disputes at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. We take our commitment to protecting and strengthening supply chains very seriously, and HHS has been closely tracking the situation at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports in preparation for potential impacts. In coordination with HHS and other Administration partners, FDA and ASPR have been in touch with trade associations, distributors, and manufacturers to limit impacts on consumers and assess vulnerabilities. ASPR and FDA have and will continue working closely with HHS to quickly identify potential shortages of lifesaving products impacted by a strike to determine the cause and work with manufacturers and distributors to address local, regional and national needs as they arise. Our Administration supports collective bargaining as the best way for workers and employers to come to a fair agreement, and we encourage all parties to come to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith—fairly and quickly."

In-town poll #2 -- lunch lid till 1:15/Mayorkas briefing

Lunch lid until 1:15.

From WH: Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will be joined by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for today's press briefing.

In-town pool #3 — readout.

From WH: This morning, President Biden convened a meeting with Vice President Harris and their national security team to discuss Iranian plans to imminently launch a significant ballistic missile attack against Israel. They reviewed the status of U.S. preparations to help Israel defend against these attacks and protect U.S. personnel in the region.

In-town pool #4 -- situation room

From WH:

President Biden and Vice President Harris are monitoring the Iranian attack against Israel from the White House Situation Room and receiving regular updates from their national security team. President Biden directed the U.S. military to aid Israel's defense against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles that are targeting Israel.

In-town pool #5 -- rabbis call rescheduled

WH official says the rabbis call scheduled for today has been rescheduled for another day -- TBD.

in-town pool #6 -- briefing moved back to 2 p.m.

WH says briefing now scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

In town pool #7 — briefing updates

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will be joined by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan for today's press briefing.

The press briefing will begin at 2:40pm.

In-town pool #8 -- two minute warning for briefing

Two minutes

in-town pool #9 -- briefing begins

[APP Note: No additional text was included in this report.]

In-town pool #10 — gathering for spray w POTUS

Spray is in the Roosevelt room.

In-town pool #11 -- spray BG

Pool #11 is being sent out of order -- this is the BG from the WH on th spray:

The President is receiving an interagency briefing on the Hurricane Helene response and recovery efforts.

Participants
Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Department of Transportation
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Department of Homeland Security
Administrator Michael Regan, Environmental Protection Agency
Jeff Zients, White House Chief of Staff
Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, Department of Defense
Deputy Secretary Don Graves, Department of Commerce
Deputy Secretary David Turk, Department of Energy
LTG William H. (Butch) Graham Jr., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Virtual Participants
Deputy Administrator Dilawar Syed, Small Business Administration
Under Secretary Robert Bonnie, Department of Agriculture
Assistant Secretary Dawn O'Connell, Department of Health and Human Services

In-town pool 12. — Iran Israel comments.

"The attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective ..make no mistake the United States is fully fully

fully supportive of Israel"

More TK.

In town pool 13 — storm comments /iran strike

"We have to jumpstart this recovery process. People are scared to death…it's going to cost billions of dollars to restore this area"

Said his advice to Israel on its response is in "active discussion"

And consequences to Iran "remain to be seen"

Hasn't spoken to Netanyahu but will. Did not say when.

In-town pool #14 -- Fuller spray quotes on Israel/Iran

POTUS began the 6-minute spray by addressing the Iranian strikes against Israel then gave a brief update on the storm efforts and took three questions about Iran/Israel at the end.

Audio was difficult. Please check against transcript or televised clip.

"At my direction, the United States military actively supported the defense of Israel. We're still assessing the impact, but based on what we know now, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective, and this is testament to Israeli military capability...also a testament to intensive planning [between] the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against a brazen attack. Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel. And I just spent the morning and part of the afternoon in the situation room, meeting with my whole national security team...the national security team as I said is in constant contact with Israeli officials and counterparts..."

How would you like Israel to respond? (not verbatim): We are having that discussion right now. In "constant contact with the Israeli government" and that "remains to be seen."

What is your message to PM Netanyahu and have you spoken with him today?

"I haven't spoken with him. We've spoken with all his people and I'll be talking to him and my message to him will depend on what we finally conclude is needed."

What should the consequences to Iran be?

"That remains to be seen."

In-town pool #15 -- lid

Travel/photo lid

In-town pool 16 -- readout

From WH:

This evening, the President was briefed by Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti, and National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard on the labor dispute at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The President noted the importance of both parties engaging in collective bargaining and negotiating in good faith, and directed his team to keep urging foreign-owned ocean carriers represented by USMX to present a strong and fair offer to the International Longshoremen's Association. These foreign companies have seen record profits—up as much as 800% since the pandemic, when Longshoremen put themselves at risk to keep ports open—and the President believes it is time they present an offer that reflects ILA workers' invaluable contribution to their success. The President directed his team to monitor for any price gouging activity that benefits foreign ocean carriers. The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has stated that it will use the authority the President called for and signed into law to prevent any unlawful and opportunistic price hikes. The President was also updated on agency assessments showing limited impacts to consumers at this time, and directed the White House Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to continue to meet every day to prepare to address potential disruptions.

Also earlier today, the Departments of Transportation and Labor released the following statements:

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Calls on Ocean Carriers to Withdraw Surcharges

Statement from Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on negotiations between USMX, the International Longshoremen's Association