Readout of White House Meeting with Black Speakers of the House

Today, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Ambassador Susan Rice, Assistant to the President and Domestic Policy Advisor, met with the historic five Black Speakers of the House from state legislatures across the country: Speaker Chris Welch of Illinois, Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross of Maine, Speaker Adrienne Jones of Maryland, Speaker Joe Tate of Michigan, and Speaker Carl Heastie of New York.

During the meeting, the Speakers discussed the critical work they are doing in partnership with the Biden-Harris Administration to deliver for working families in their states and outlined priorities for enhanced collaboration. From expanding economic opportunity, including lowering costs and expanding housing access and affordability, to advancing voting rights, gun violence prevention, criminal justice reform, and reproductive rights, Administration and state leaders are aligned on an ambitious policy agenda.

The White House officials thanked the Speakers for their leadership and congratulated them on their historic elections. President Biden has ushered in some of the most significant federal legislation in decades, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, American Rescue Plan Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the PACT Act the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, the Electoral Count Reform Act, and the Respect for Marriage Act. The White House officials reiterated the importance of federal-state partnership to implement many of the critical provisions in these bills, as well as the importance of state leadership in advancing policies that Congress cannot or will not advance.