Pool Reports of November 9, 2021

In-town pool report # 1

Good afternoon from the White House -

We have no events with in-person access to the president on the schedule today. There is scheduled pool coverage via a dial-in to remarks at virtual DNC grassroots event and a virtual DNC fundraiser.

I have asked the DNC to open up feeds to these virtual events. Will advise of any updates.

The press briefing is scheduled for 1 p.m. with Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre joined by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

In-town pool report #2 - lunch lid and link to grassroots event

The White House called a lunch lid until 4:30 p.m.

Note that it appears the virtual grassroots event is going to stream on the DNC's website at 4:30 p.m. at >https://www.live.democrats.org/<

The president is expected to speak at 4:40 p.m.

In-town pool report #3 - supply chain calls

The White House passes along the following:

On background from a White House official:

Today, President Biden spoke with four CEOs of leading U.S. companies to discuss steps that the Administration and private sector can take to further strengthen our supply chains and build on steps we've already taken to speed up deliveries and lower prices. These CEOs were:

Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon
UPS CEO Carol B. Tomé
FedEx Chairman and CEO Frederick W. Smith
Target Board Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell

Despite global disruptions due to the pandemic, America is moving record volumes of goods from our ports to shelves and homes. For example, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which import 40% of all containerized imports into the country, are handling the most goods in their history, 17% more than their previous record year. The CEO of FedEx said on Sunday that his company expects to move 100 million more packages this holiday season than in 2019.

But President Biden knows how even small price increase can squeeze a family's budget. That's why the President is not waiting to take action, and why his Administration has already taken unprecedented steps to get goods flowing from ships to shelves faster. That includes partnerships with the ports of LA and Long Beach to move to 24/7 operations—in addition to partnerships with labor as well as private sector leaders like Walmart, UPS, Target and FedEx who are taking similar action—and other steps we're taking throughout the supply chain.

During the conversations, President Biden received updates from these private sector leaders on the efforts they're taking to speed up throughput in our entire goods movement supply chain and discussed how shelves will be well-stocked this holiday season thanks to the tireless efforts of their companies, as well as the ports and workers stretching from longshoremen to truck drivers, rail and warehouse workers, store clerks, and everyone in between.

In addition to the immediate action we've already taken, President Biden also reiterated the near- and long-term steps we're taking to make our supply chain more resilient, including today's announcement of the Administration's Port Action Plan, as well as the historic levels of investment that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal provides for our ports, roads, bridges, rails, and other key components of our supply chain.

Combined, these steps are going to create good-paying jobs, fix our supply chains for generations to come, and lower prices for working families.

In-town pool report #4 -- DNC grassroots event underway

The DNC grassroots event is getting underway as of 4:41 p.m.

It is streaming on the DNC websites, and the direct Youtube link is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI3jUvZNASs

In-town pool report #5

President Biden wrapped up his prepared remarks at the DNC grassroots event at 4:58 p.m.

He then took questions from DNC Chair Jamie Harrison on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the reconciliation bill, with the president and Harrison also discussing early childhood education.

The president left the virtual event program at 5:09 p.m.

In-town pool report #6 - DNC fundraiser remarks

Your pooler joined a virtual DNC fundraiser conducted via Zoom by phone at 5:55 p.m. shortly before former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell began to speak to introduce President Biden.

"I noticed Scranton acted first. They have an exit, the Joe Biden parkway there," the president said.

"I never thought I could remotely raise enough money to be competitive with the Trump organization," Biden said, thanking the supporters at the virtual event.

POTUS reprised many of the points about the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better proposal. He spoke about provisions including pre-K, lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

He then turned to the recent authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for the 5-11 year old population, and he looked forward to "soon an antiviral pill."

He also reprised some other comments before concluding at 6:05 p.m. As a virtual photo line was about to start, your pooler was disconnected.

I plan to send a link to the audio shortly. As always, check quotes against the transcript.

In-town pool report #7 - lid

Travel/photo lid was called at 6:19 p.m.

Since I understand that not all members of the pool may have gotten on to the DNC fundraising call, here's an Otter link to the recording. There is some cross talk before introductions.

https://otter.ai/u/RxQxT0ArHhgw7VMo6x_bvqCtLzE/a

In-town pool report #8 - Baltimore preview

The White House has sent a background memo previewing the president's trip to Baltimore on Wednesday, which appears below:

BACKGROUND MEMORANDUM

TO: Supplemental Travel Pool
FROM: White House Press Office
DATE: November 9, 2021
RE: Background on BID for the President's Visit to Baltimore, Maryland

Impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (BID) on Maryland

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will make a generational investment in Maryland's infrastructure and resilience.

Roads and Bridges:

• In Maryland there are 273 bridges and over 2,200 miles of highway in poor condition.
• Based on formula funding alone, Maryland will receive $4.1 billion for federal-aid highways and $409 million for bridges.

Public Transportation:

• Maryland residents who take public transportation spend an extra 66% of their time commuting. More than 1 in 5 transit vehicles in the state are past useful life.
• Based on formula funding alone, Maryland will receive $1.7 billion to improve public transportation options.

High-Speed Internet:

• 11% of Maryland households do not have an internet subscription.
• Maryland will receive a minimum allocation of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state, including providing access to the more than 148,000 people who currently lack it.

Water:

• Currently, up to 10 million American households and 400,000 schools and child care centers lack safe drinking water across the country.
• Maryland would expect to receive $844 million to improve water infrastructure in the state.

Resilience:

• From 2010 to 2020, Maryland experienced 31 extreme weather events.
• The bill includes a $50 billion national investment in resilience to strengthen our infrastructure for the impacts of climate change.

Port of Baltimore

The Port of Baltimore (POB), founded in 1706, has a total of six state-owned, public marine terminals and is one of the busiest seaports in the U.S. It imports and exports more autos, farm, and construction equipment than any other U.S. port. It is also one of the few East Coast ports with a 50-foot deep channel, which enables it to accommodate some of the largest container ships in the world. POB is one of Maryland's leading economic generators with more than 15,300 direct jobs and more than 139,000 jobs in Maryland linked to it. Baltimore is also the largest e-commerce port in the United States, bringing product to brick-and-mortar retailers and consumers faster than any other port.

The port has rebounded well after disruptions caused by COVID-19, and volumes of all of the port's key cargo commodities are up since 2019. The port has helped to alleviate congestion at other east coast ports, with 21 new ships a week on their schedule and other diverted ships arriving on an ad-hoc basis.

Much of this is due to the improvements and modernization that the port has prioritized over the past few decades. Federal grants from the Department of Transportation (DOT) over the past several years have allowed the port to expand rail access and connectivity, and significant investments from the State of Maryland have supported the local market of distribution, fulfillment, and sorting centers. For example, DOT recently awarded an $125 million INFRA grant to expand the Howard Street rail tunnel, which is a significant bottleneck for the port. Once upgraded, the tunnel will be able to accommodate rail cars with two containers stacked on top, which would double capacity and improve efficiency.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the Port of Baltimore:

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal includes a historic $17 billion investment to upgrade our nation's ports to strengthen our supply chains and prevent disruptions. The Port of Baltimore can benefit from a number of programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, including a $2.25 billion Port Infrastructure Development Grants program at the Department of Transportation and another roughly $5 billion of funding at Army Corps for dedicated construction projects for ports and inland waterways. In addition, there are multiple programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal that will fund projects for roads and rails outside of port gates, which need repair and are essential to the efficient transportation of goods.