Pool Reports of July 23, 2021

pool report #1/background memo on Virginia visit

Good morning.

Call time is in an hour. Ahead of the campaign rally later today with Terry McAuliffe, the press office shares this background memo.

BACKGROUND MEMORANDUM

TO: In-Town Travel Pool

FROM: White House Press Office

DATE: July 23, 2021

RE: Background for the President's Visit to Virginia

The Impact of the American Rescue Plan in Virginia

· More than $4.2 billion in state fiscal relief.

· More than $2.9 billion in local fiscal relief.

· More than $2.1 billion in relief for K-12 schools.

· Economic impact payments of up to $1,400 per person (above the $600 per person provided in December) for more than 5,118,900 adults and 1,884,700 children. This reflects 82% of all adults in the Commonwealth and 81% of all children in the Commonwealth.

· Additional relief of up to $1,600 per child through the Child Tax Credit to the families of 1,591,000 children, lifting 85,000 children out of poverty.

· Additional relief of up to nearly $1,000 through the Earned Income Tax Credit to 419,000 childless workers, including many in frontline jobs.

· Marketplace health insurance premiums that are $1,503 lower per month for a 60-year old couple earning $75,000 per year.

State of the Economy in Virginia

· Personal income surged 66 percent at an annual rate during the first quarter of 2021.

· The unemployment rate in Virginia has fallen by more than half since June 2020 (8.8 percent to 4.3 percent).

· GDP increased 6 percent in the first quarter.

· Virginia's economy is gaining traction and making progress. The President's economic plan is working.

State of the Pandemic in Virginia

· Case rates have dropped by 91 percent since January 20, 2021.

· Death rates have dropped by 91 percent since January 20, 2021.

· Hospitalizations have dropped by 87 percent since January 20, 2021.

The Vaccination Program in Virginia

· Number of Virginia residents with at least one dose: 5,185,865 people (60.8% of the total population, 72.6% of the adult population).

· Number of Virginia residents fully vaccinated: 4,594,024 people (53.8% of the total population, 64.6% of the adult population).

The Biden Administration's Support for Virginia Vaccinations

· Pharmacies: As of July 20, there are over 1,100 local pharmacies administering vaccine in Virginia. The vast majority of these pharmacies offer no-appointment, walk-in vaccinations, and 146 were open for extended hours on Fridays in June. Over 2.6 million shots have been administered in Virginia through pharmacies.

· Community Health Centers: The Biden Administration is delivering vaccine doses directly to 12 Community Health Centers (CHCs) in the Commonwealth, spanning 21 sites. As of July 20, 55,570 doses have been delivered directly to CHCs in the Commonwealth.

· Federal Funding: As of July 14, the Biden Administration has provided over $266 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to Virginia to support vaccination operations in communities across the Commonwealth. In addition, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, the Administration has provided nearly $80 million to 26 community health centers to help expand medical services, including vaccinations, in underserved communities; and an additional $83 million to the state and local public health departments, as well as community-based organizations in Virginia, to support vaccine education and outreach efforts.

· Federal Personnel: The Biden Administration has deployed over 275 Federal personnel to Virginia to support community vaccination centers, and provided Federal funding for over 380 National Guard members supporting the Commonwealth's overall COVID-19 response.

· Community Vaccination Centers: As of July 14, the Biden Administration has provided Federal support for three community and pop-up vaccination sites in the Commonwealth, through Federal funding, personnel, and/or equipment. This includes one federally-run community vaccination center at Military Circle Mall in Norfolk, which administered more than 83,000 shots in arms.

The Need for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework in Virginia

For decades, infrastructure in Virginia has suffered from a systemic lack of investment. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF) will:

· Repair and rebuild our roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians. In Virginia, there are 577 bridges and over 2,124 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by nearly 8% in Virginia and, on average, each driver pays $517 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The BIF will devote more than $312 billion to transform our Nation's transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $110 billion for roads, bridges, and major projects. The BIF is the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system.

· Improve healthy, sustainable transportation options for millions of Americans. Virginians who take public transportation spend an extra 72% of their time commuting, and non-White households are 1.6 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 10% of trains and other transit vehicles in the Commonwealth are past useful life. The BIF will modernize public transit with a $48.5 billion investment and invest $66 billion in passenger and freight rail. The BIF is the largest Federal investment in public transit in history and is the largest Federal investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak.

· Prepare more of our infrastructure for the impacts of climate change, cyber-attacks, and extreme weather events. From 2010 to 2020, Virginia has experienced 40 extreme weather events, costing the Commonwealth up to $10 billion in damages. The BIF includes $47 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities' recovery from disaster. The BIF is the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history.

· Deliver clean drinking water to up to ten million American families. Over the next 20 years, Virginia's drinking water infrastructure will require $18.1 billion in additional funding. The BIF would make significant investments towards the elimination of all lead pipes and service lines in the country, and reduce lead exposure in our schools and child care facilities, improving the health of our country's children, including in communities of color.

· Connect every American to reliable high-speed internet. Nearly 10% of Virginians live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 39% of Virginians live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 13% of Virginia households do not have an internet subscription. Just as the Federal Government made a historic effort to provide electricity to every American nearly one hundred years ago, the BIF will make an historic investment to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America.

· Upgrade our power infrastructure. In Virginia, an average low-income family spends 6-8% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The BIF will represent the single largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history, building thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy, including through a new Grid Authority.

How the Build Back Better Agenda Will Help Virginians

· Higher Education: The average cost of a 2-year degree in Virginia is over $5,200 per year. The Build Back Better agenda will provide at least two years of free community college to students across more than 20 colleges, including Dreamers. The Build Back Better agenda will also increase the maximum Pell Grant awards by nearly $1,500 to support the 160,000 students in Virginia who rely on Pell for their education. In addition, the plan will provide support to 12 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions (MSIs) in Virginia, including tuition subsidies for low- and middle-income students attending these institutions.

· Universal Pre-School: Today, only 41,600 0r just 20% of the more than 206,000 3-and 4- year-olds in Virginia are enrolled in publicly-funded pre-school. The Build Back Better agenda will provide access to free, high-quality pre-school for all 3- and 4-year-olds in Virginia, and ensure that all employees in funded pre-school programs are paid a $15 minimum wage and that funded programs provide compensation and benefits comparable to kindergarten educators to those with similar qualifications.

· Investing in Virginia's Teachers: Virginia has shown just a 2% growth in new teachers. And while we know that having teachers reflect the communities they serve is critical to student performance, in Virginia just 18 percent of teachers are teachers of color, while students of color make up 51 percent of the student population. The Build Back Better agenda will invest in our teachers so we address teacher shortages, improve teacher preparation, recruit and develop more teachers of color and leverage our veteran teachers to help support and train new teachers.

· Child Care: The average annual cost of child care for a toddler in Virginia is $14,600, meaning that the average two-parent household spends 13 percent of their income on child care every year. The Build Back Better agenda will enable low and middle-income families to pay no more than 7 percent of their income on high-quality child care, generating lifetime benefits for 208,000 children under 5 in Virginia and helping working families make ends meet.

· Child Nutrition: Currently 11 percent of children in Virginia live in food insecure households and 31 percent are obese. The Build Back Better agenda will ensure that the nutritional needs Virginia's children are met by expanding access to free school meals to an additional 194,000 students and providing 594,000 students with resources to purchase food over the summer.

· Paid Leave: Currently, in Virginia and across the nation, more than 110 million workers lack access to paid family leave and nearly million lack access to paid medical leave. The Build Back Better agenda will create a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program to ensure workers receive partial wage replacement from the government to eventually take up to 12 weeks to bond with a new child, care for a sick loved one, heal themselves, or grieve a loss.

· Affordable Housing: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, nearly 500,000 renters in Virginia are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30%of their income on rent. The Build Back Better agenda will investment more than $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis.

· Tax Cuts for Virginia's Families and Workers: The Build Back Better agenda will extend the American Rescue Plan's Child Tax Credit (CTC), Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, and Earned Income Tax Credit.

Pool report #2/briefing now at 1 pm

The Press Briefing with Press Secretary Jen Psaki will begin at 1:00 PM.

pool report #3/2-minute warning for briefing

2 minute warning issued at 1:11 p.m.

pool report #4/3-hour lid

The press office has declared a late lunch/early dinner/ice cream/walk around the park lid until 5:45 pm.

The pool will then reconvene to accompany the president to tonight's rally at Lubber Run Park in Arlington, VA, for the Terry McAuliffe for Governor campaign. POTUS remarks are expected to begin around 7:45 pm and the event is open press.

POTUS scheduled to depart the White House via Marine One en route Delaware at 8:45 pm.

Catch you all later.

Pool report #5/rolling for McAuliffe rally

The presidential motorcade rolled from the White House at 6:39 pm on this Friday evening, headed to the Terry McAuliffe for governor campaign rally.

The Beast and its doppelganger were parked at the awning as pool headed to the two press vans.

Next stop: Lubber Run Park. Open press rally.

Traveling with the President to Arlington, Virginia:

Jen O'Malley Dillon, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
Steve Ricchetti, Assistant to the President & Counselor to the President
Russ Travers, Deputy Assistant to the President & Senior Deputy Homeland Security Advisor
Emmy Ruiz, Deputy Assistant to the President & Director of Political Strategy & Outreach
Rob Flaherty, Deputy Assistant to the President & Director of Digital Strategy
Meghan Hays, Special Assistant to the President & Director of Message Planning
Andrew Bates, Special Assistant to the President & Deputy Press Secretary
Travis Dredd, Special Assistant to the President & Trip Director
Ashley Williams, Special Assistant to the President & Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations
Stephen Goepfert, Special Assistant to the President & Personal Aide to the President

Pool report #6/arrival at McAuliffe rally

President Biden's motorcade arrived at Lubber Run Park in Arlington, Va., at 6:50 pm.

Uneventful motorcade passed the Kennedy Center and on to I-66 before speeding past onlookers in Arlington.

A couple dozen protesters at the entrance. Some had signs demanding a ban on franking, or prolife. One read "Biden stop McAuliffe's Mountain Valley Pipeline"

From the press office:

Upon arrival, the President will meet with DACA recipients to hear their stories and express his commitment to protecting Dreamers. Participants include:

Claudia Flores, Associate Director for Immigration Policy and Strategy at the Center for American Progress
Juan Escalante, Digital Campaigns Manager at FWD.us
Diana Pliego, Policy Associate at National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
Jennifer Romero, CASA
Jesus Perez, CASA in Action
Mitzi Colin Lopez, Paralegal
Ruby Gabriela Rivera Prado, Nurse at Adventist Healthcare Urgent Care
Carla Pierre, Senior Associate, The Raben Group

pool report #7/rally color

Really a lovely evening for an outdoor rally.

Uniformed Secret Service are surveying the crowd from the roof of the Lubber Run Community Center with jumbo binoculars.

The stage is set along one side of the building, with the crowd spread out on the lawn, up a small hill, and on and beyond a playground with the sort of cushiony material that protects kids from bumps and bruises.

Seems like a couple thousand but hard to tell. Crowd count expected by the time POTUS speaks.

The crowd boos at the mentions of GOP gubernatorial nominee Glen Youngkin and Donald Trump and the GOP attorney general nominee as a "Cucinelli-style conservative."

Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn of the Virginia House of Delegates: "What they really want is a legislature that acts like the legislatures in Texas or Georgia." (pooler perks up; crowd boos) "And they want a governor who defers to Donald Trump. But we won't let that happen, because you know what? We are going to" -- and the crowd finished the sentence: "Keep Virginia Blue."

That sort of thing.

In the crowd, a very small smattering of face masks. Folks are holding green placards that say "Keep Virginia Blue" -- the color seems incongruous with the message -- and "Terry for Virginia" signs mostly in blue, with "Terry" in white and an outline of VA in the same shade of green.

Some T-shirts with donkeys, or "Obama-Biden" logos.

Program at the grassroots event hosted by Terry for Virginia and Virginia Democrats:

· Pledge of Allegiance: Claire Russo, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran
· Invocation: Dr. Leonard N. Smith, Senior Minister of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Arlington, VA
· Welcome remarks: Susan Swecker, Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia
· Volunteer pitch: Anjana Parashar, Democratic Party of Virginia Field Organizer (pool was heading to its pen when she was talking)
· Delegate Charniele Herring, of the Virginia House of Delegates
· Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, Virginia House of Delegates
· Delegate Hala Ayala, Virginia House of Delegates (Prince William) and Candidate for Lieutenant Governor
· Attorney General of Virginia Mark Herring
· U.S. Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08)
· Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam
· Former First Lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe
· Former Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe
· The President

pool report #8/VA rally ongoing-Northam

A small cheer went up as an aide affixed the presidential seal to the lectern on stage after Gov. Ralph Northam spoke.

"I don't know about you, Virginia, but I am proud to be a Democrat and when we elect Democrats in Virginia, good things happen," he said. "What a great ticket we have. Terry McAuliffe was our 72d governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and he will be our 74th governor."

Van Halen's "Jump" starts the medley as the crowd awaits McAuliffe and Biden.

Some "Biden-Harris T-shirts spotted."

Meanwhile, more from press office:

The President met with former Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe and former First Lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe.

The President is participating in a photo line with elected officials and supporters, including:

Governor Ralph Northam
Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08)
Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (VA-07)
Attorney General Mark Herring
Senator L. Louise Lucas, President Pro Tempore of the Virginia Senate (Portsmouth)
Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, Virginia House of Delegates (Fairfax County)
Delegate Charniele Herring, Majority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates (Alexandria City)
Delegate Hala Ayala, Virginia House of Delegates (Prince William) and Candidate for Lieutenant Governor
Matt de Ferranti, Arlington County Board Chair
Dr. Barbara J. Kanninen, Arlington School Board Chair
Susan Swecker, Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia
Claire Russo, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran
Dr. Leonard N. Smith, Senior Minister of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Arlington, VA
Anjana Parashar, Democratic Party of Virginia Field Organizer

pool report #9/VA rally - McAuliffe speaking

Terry McAuliffe took the stage at Lubber Run Park at 7:45 pm.

"It is amazing how far Virginia has come over the course of the last eight years. ...When we took office in 2013, we were facing the most anti-women, anti-gay, environment, pro-gun legislation in the United States of America. We inherited an economy that was in crisis."

The crowd is estimated at "just shy of 3,000 attendees," and pooler would not quibble with that.

"The former and future first lady of Virginia, Dorothy McAuliffe" introduced her husband.

During the interlude between Northam and McAuliffe, the musical selections included Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" ("Virginia they didn't give you quite enough information" etc)

pool report #10/Biden underway at McAuliffe rally

President Biden has taken the stage at Lubber Run Park in Arlington, Va., and began speaking at 8pm sharp, after embracing Terry McAuliffe and waving a bit to the crowd.

Teases Republicans and Fox News for having "an alter call" and coming to their senses on vaccinations. "Thank God the governor of Arkansas--excuse me, Alabama..." he was saying when at least three people toward the front started shouting "Stop Line 3!" (pretty sure this is what they were shouting. It's a pipeline project from Alberta to Minnesota but there were pipeline protesters outside the park tonight, and you can google #stopline3 and see there's an effort to persuade Biden to block the project)

The crowd shouted down the hecklers and Biden quipped: "This is not a Trump rally. Let 'em holler. No one's paying attention."

In his warm-up speech, McAuliffe blasted gubernatorial rival Glenn Youngkin for, among many other things, launching his campaign "on an election integrity plan that was based on Donald Trump's conspiracy theory about the 2020 election, and for five months that is the only plan that he had on his website.... Let me clear it up for you. Joe Biden won that election."

McAuliffe gets as cheer for vowing to raise Virginia's minimum wage to $15 within the next three years, and as big a cheer when he says: "Speaking of education, I would like to give a shout out to the best professor we have at Northern Virginia Community College, Dr. Jill Biden." He noted that she's representing the US at the Olympics in Tokyo.

McAuliffe stayed on stage, sitting behind Biden as the president spoke.

pool report #11/Biden done speaking at McAuliffe rally

President Biden spoke from 8 pm to 8:28pm, devoting much of the speech to praise of McAuliffe and eventually taking aim at Trump, without naming him and going more for the jugular.

"In this election and in 2022, the question the American people are going to be asking is whether or not we're helping them and their families... We have to showe we do understand, and we're delivering for them. And we're keeping our promises. We just have to keep making the case just as the Republican PArty today offers nothing but fear, lies and broken promises."

When you think about, turning on the television every day and seeing the replay of what happened on January 6 and saying it was a lot of wonderful peaceful people. ... It is bizarre."

"You can never stop the American people from voting, and they're trying like hell," he said of Republicans.

Pool loading back in vans.

Pool report #12/heading back to White House

The presidential motorcade rolled away from Lubber Run Park and the McAuliffe rally at 8:37 pm, passing onlookers and maybe a dozen or two protesters just outside the park. I spotted "I am pro-life" signs.

Now retracing route past restaurants in Arlington.

Pool report #13/back at White House

Motorcade pulled to a stop about 8:48 pm under darkening sky. Marine One is already in the South Lawn with stairs down and uniformed Marine at the bottom of the steps.

The president went into the residence. Pool has returned through the Palm Room. Awaiting call very shortly for his departure to JBA and then Delaware.

Pool report #14/Marine One liftoff

President Biden boarded Marine One at about 8:57 pm without stopping to speak with the pool.

The chopper lifted at 9:01.

Handing off to travel pool.

Traveling with the President to Wilmington, Delaware on Marine One:

Steve Ricchetti, Assistant to the President & Counselor to the President Daleep Singh, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council

Stephen Goepfert, Special Assistant to the President & Personal Aide to the President

Pool report #15/lighting of White House

The press office passes this along.

The White House is lit up in red, white, and blue tonight in support of Team USA and all of the Olympians proudly representing our country in Tokyo. The White House will be lit up Saturday and Sunday night as well, as the entire nation cheers on our Olympic team. Go Team USA!

I have attached a photo showing the colorful display this evening just after POTUS departed.

Travel pool #1 - Delaware Air National Guard Base

Good evening from your travel pooler.

Marine One landed at Delaware Air National Guard Base, New Castle, at 9:49 pm ET

POTUS emerged at 9:53 pm

From the White House:

Upon arrival at Delaware Air National Guard, the President will be greeted by Brigadier General Carl Danberg.

Travel pool #2 - en route to residence

?POTUS stepped into Suburban and did not stop for questions. We are now en route to residence

Travel pool #3 — drop off at residence 10:09pm

POTUS arrived at residence at 10:09pm and entered shortly thereafter.

A note on pool travel to Delaware earlier:

Earlier pool Osprey departed JBA to DANG at about 8:40 pm

Travel pool report #4 - lid called at 10:27 pm

White House called a photo travel at 10:27pm