{"id":170153,"date":"2023-11-27T15:21:13","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T23:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=170153"},"modified":"2023-11-27T15:21:13","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T23:21:13","slug":"president-biden-on-new-actions-to-strengthen-supply-chains-lower-costs-for-families-and-help-americans-get-the-goods-they-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=170153","title":{"rendered":"President Biden on New Actions to Strengthen Supply Chains, Lower Costs for Families, and Help Americans Get the Goods They Need"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you very much, Pete.  And it\u2019s good to see you all.  I \u2014 you know, we always talk about the big issues, the big things, but sometimes the big things work or don\u2019t work based on whether or not the little things are in place, the mechanics are in place. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4ubq54NJiw8\" title=\"President Biden Delivers Remarks on New Actions to Strengthen Supply Chains\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Secretary Buttigieg, thank you for being here today and to help us launch this new Council \u2014 (clears throat) \u2014 excuse me \u2014 Council on Supply Chain Resilience.<\/p>\n<p>I grew up in a family, like many of you, where when the groceries prices went up, the price of a gallon of gas went up, it was a conversation at the kitchen table.  I mean literally, not figuratively.  Those conversations have been going on at kitchen tables all across America for awhile now.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation \u2014 the conversation about whether we\u2019d<br \/>\nhave enough left over at the end of the month for my dad to be able \u2014 he used to say, \u201chave a little bit of breathing room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Well, this past week, as Americans gathered around their own kitchen tables for Thanksgiving dinner, that was our goal: to give them a little more breathing room.  And together, we made progress.<\/p>\n<p>You know, from turkey, to air travel, to a tank of gas, costs went down.  They went down. <\/p>\n<p>Now, to people making a lot of money, that doesn\u2019t matter a whole lot, because the costs are relatively small compared to wealthy incomes. <\/p>\n<p>In fact, as a share of earnings, this Thanksgiving dinner was the fourth-cheapest ever on record.  And I want you all to know that.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>I look at all the press looking out.  (Applause.)  The press is particularly excited about that.  I can see.  (Laughter.) <\/p>\n<p>Well, look, all kidding aside, that\u2019s not all.  On Thanksgiving two years ago, 100 container ships were waiting in the docks \u2014 to dock on the ports.  They were lined up 100 long out into the ocean. <\/p>\n<p>This year, there were less than 10.<\/p>\n<p>Meaning that today, as folks start their holiday shopping, shelves are stocked.  Meaning that if major appliances, like a stove or a fridge, broke down over Thanksgiving, you can replace it faster and 9 percent cheaper than you did two years ago.<\/p>\n<p>These savings matter to so many families, especially at this time of the year. <\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s no \u2014 they\u2019re no accident.  When \u2014 it comes down to supply chains.<\/p>\n<p>Did \u2014 did you ever think we\u2019d be talking this much about supply chains?  (Laughter.)  No, but I\u2019m serious.  It\u2019s critical.  Everybody is beginning to figure it out.  The average person knows what we\u2019re talking \u2014 when we talk about supply chains.  But when the supply chains were disrupted, we knew what \u2014 what trouble we had.<\/p>\n<p>Before the pandemic, supply chains weren\u2019t something most Americans thought about or talked about.  But today, after years of delay in parts and products, everyone knows why supply chains are so important. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why, within my first month in office, I signed an executive order bringing supply chains home \u2014 home to get goods moving again.  So, they start it here.  We had the basic product here. <\/p>\n<p>Less than a year later, I signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make a generational investment in every part of our supply chain \u2014 from our roads, to our bridges, to our ports, to our airports, to our Internet. <\/p>\n<p>Less than a year after that, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act to grow the industries of the future right here at home, including electric vehicles and clean energy.<\/p>\n<p>And the CHIPS Act \u2014 and the CHIPS and Science Act \u2014 how in God\u2019s name can you lead the world when you don\u2019t lead the world in science and development? \u2014 to make sure we never experience another shortage of semiconductors.<\/p>\n<p>You know America invented these chips.  I know my staff is tired of hearing me say this, and my Cabinet: But these small computer chips the size of a fingertip, they\u2019re \u2014 they affect nearly everything in our lives from cell phones, to automobiles, to refrigerators.  If you don\u2019t have them, you don\u2019t have those things.<\/p>\n<p>But over time, we went down from producing 40 percent of the world\u2019s chips, to just doing 10 percent.  But not anymore.  All over the country, semiconductor factory \u2014 companies are investing hundreds of billions \u2014 let me say that \u2014 hundreds of billions of dollars to bring chip production back home, here to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Over the last three years, all the leaders around this table \u2014 these two tables on my right and left \u2014 have also worked to lower costs for American families: from cracking down on foreign-owned ocean shipping companies that had raised their prices as much as 1,000 percent while racking up enormous profits, teaming up with truckers to create registered apprenticeship programs, and move a record level of cargo around the country; to helping family farmers and family farms access fertilizer they need to grow food, so many of us in \u2014 so many \u2014 that so many of us enjoyed at Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, the result: Today, our supply chains are stronger than ever, with backlogs, bottlenecks, and shipping rates at a 25-year low.  We\u2019ve created 14 million new jobs, including 800,000 manufacturing jobs. <\/p>\n<p>And the unemployment rate has stayed below 4 percent \u2014 below 4 percent for the longest period \u2014 the longest stretch in over 50 years. <\/p>\n<p>And wages for working families have gone up while inflation has come down 65 percent \u2014 giving families a little more money in their pockets and a little more breathing room this holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>But we know the prices are still too high for too many things, that times are still too tough for too many families.  But we\u2019ve made progress, but we have more work to do.<\/p>\n<p>Let me be clear: To any corporation that has not brought their prices back down \u2014 even as inflation has come down, even supply chains have been rebuilt \u2014 it\u2019s time to stop the price gouging \u2014 giving the American consumer a break.<\/p>\n<p>Look, that\u2019s why I\u2019m tackling junk fees \u2014 these hidden charges that companies sneak into your bill to make you pay more money just because they can and you have no alternative.  Junk fees take real money out of the pockets of average Americans.  They can add up to hundreds of dollars, weighing down family budgets and making it harder for a family to pay their bills.  And they feel like they\u2019re being played for suckers, which they are.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past two years, my administration has taken steps to crack down on unfair and deceptive junk fees from banking, hotels, retail housing \u2014 rental housing, cable networks, In- \u2014 the Internet, concerts, airlines, healthcare. <\/p>\n<p>For example, some banks and credit unions were charging as much as $30 for basic services, like \u2014 want to check my balance.  Costs you 30 bucks.  Retrieving old bank records will cost you that much money.  Looking into the balance on a loan, they charge you that money.  We took action.  The action we\u2019ve taken?  All that is now illegal \u2014 illegal. <\/p>\n<p>Overdraft fees were also down nearly 50 percent, which means savings of a hundred \u2014 average of a $150 for 33 million families across the country. <\/p>\n<p>And credit companies \u2014 credit companies have been charging an average of $31 whenever you call \u2014 and you can\u2019t \u2014 whenever you can\u2019t pay your bill on time \u2014 whenever you\u2019re late.  You know, we\u2019re taking action to cut these fees as well to no more than $8 penalty.<\/p>\n<p>But, you know, MAGA Republicans in Congress are pushing back on our efforts to end these junk fees.  Folks, these refunds may not matter to the wealthy, but they matter to working folks in homes like the ones a lot of us grew up in.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what this is all about: the American people.<\/p>\n<p>And today, we\u2019re coming together to ask a simple question: What\u2019s next?  What can we do?  What must we do to keep making progress to keep our supply chain stable and secure in the long term, to keep preserving that breathing room \u2014 that little bit of breathing room for American families for the season to come, no matter what challenges we face?<\/p>\n<p>And thanks to the folks who are assembled here around this table, we\u2019re making progress on two key fronts. <\/p>\n<p>First, we\u2019re doubling down on our work at home \u2014 starting right here, right now \u2014 with the launch of a new Council on Supply Chain Resilience.  I\u2019m charging this group to ensure that our supply chains remain secure, diversified, resilient, and do all \u2014 and into the future. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve also directed my Cabinet to create an early warning system that uses data to spot subside** \u2014 supply chains risks to our economic security, our national security, our energy security, and our climate security.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m proud to announce that I\u2019ll be invoking what\u2019s known as the Defense Production Act to boost production of essential medicines in America, by American workers.  Because you notice we\u2019ve had \u2014 people had to get certain kinds of shots.  It was not available.  You had to get it overseas.  Well, that supply chain is going to start here in America \u2014 here in America.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to help ensure American families have reliable access to medicines they need.<\/p>\n<p>Second, we\u2019re doubling down on our work with global partners.<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks ago, I signed the first-of-its-kind supply chain agreement with 13 countries in the Indo-Pacific.  This agreement is going to help us identify supply chain bottlenecks before \u2014 before they become the kind of full-scale disruptions we saw<br \/>\nduring the pandemic.  We all saw what happened then.<\/p>\n<p>     Semiconductor supply chains from Asia and Afri- \u2014 and \u2014 and to America shut \u2014 from Asia to America shut down.  If this agreement had been in place back then, we would have had to \u2014 we would be able to avoid that.<\/p>\n<p>And auto companies could not have had to lay off so many workers because they didn\u2019t \u2014 couldn\u2019t \u2014 couldn\u2019t get the computer chips to could the vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>On top of this, I also signed the first-ever presidential memorandum on worker rights globally, a move that\u2019s going to address forced labor; promote worker health, worker wages, worker unions as we build out our supply chains.  Because we know our progress depends on our workers, including union workers. <\/p>\n<p>They \u2014 they keep our supply chains secure and our ec- \u2014 our economies moving.<\/p>\n<p>So, we have to do more to empower them here at home and around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, we\u2019ve been able to push back on Republican \u2014 MAGA Republicans so far, but they haven\u2019t given up.  They haven\u2019t given up.  They still want to undo this progress we\u2019re making. <\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re proposing cuts to investments in roads, in bridges, the Internet \u2014 the high-speed Internet \u2014 the very things that provided from the \u2014 anyway, they\u2019re just \u2014 across the board.  And the cuts that could result in loss of jobs, in infrastructure, and in manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>And they want to go back to the \u201cbad old days,\u201d when corporations looked around the world to find the cheapest labor they could find, to send the jobs overseas, and then import the products back to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Now we\u2019re building the products here and exporting products overseas.  We\u2019re not importing jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, we\u2019re not importing anything other than what we make.  We\u2019re making it here, and we\u2019re sending it overseas, rather than going to cheapest place we can go to have it made.<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line: They want to make the whole supply chain<br \/>\nmore vulnerable.  Their plan would offshore jobs; raise costs for seniors by repealing the insulin price reduction, the caps on out-of-pocket drug expenses, and the ability to negotiate lower drug prices that I secured in the Inflation Reduction Act. <\/p>\n<p>Their plan would cut Social Security benefits.  I thought we had this \u2014 they agreed not to do this a couple times.  But they\u2019re back at it.  Benefits \u2014 average benefit cut would be 13 percent for people \u2014 for \u2014 for \u2014 by 13 percent \u2014 those that we can cut. <\/p>\n<p>Their plan would also cut Medicare, while providing more tax giveaways to the wealthy and the biggest corporations.<\/p>\n<p>And my predecessor has once again, God love him, called for cuts that could rip away health insurance for tens of millions of Americans in Medicaid.  They just don\u2019t give up.<\/p>\n<p>But guess what?  We won\u2019t let these things happen.<\/p>\n<p>Let me close with this.  You know, we\u2019ve faced some pretty tough times in recent years, but in America there\u2019s no surrender.  There\u2019s no giving up.  There\u2019s no stopping.  America never gives up.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve long said we\u2019re the only nation in the world that comes out of every crisis stronger than when we went into it \u2014 that crisis. <\/p>\n<p>I truly believe that 50 years from now, when historians are taking a look at this \u2014 looking back at this moment \u2014 when they look back on the work we\u2019re doing to build the economy from the bottom up and middle out; to strengthen the<br \/>\nAmerican supply chains and manufacturing workers all across the country, they\u2019re going to say that this was the beginning \u2014 when America won the competition of the 21st century.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve never been more optimistic about our nation\u2019s future.  We just have to remember who we are. <\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve heard me say it before: We are the United States of America, and there is nothing \u2014 nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. <\/p>\n<p>So, folks, I\u2019ve got a lot of work ahead of us.  I\u2019m confident we can do.  We\u2019ve done a lot already.  So, just keep at it.  We\u2019re going to lower prices for the average Americans all across this country. <\/p>\n<p>Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you very much, Pete. And it\u2019s good to see you all. I \u2014 you know, we always talk about the big issues, the big things, but sometimes the big things work or don\u2019t work based on whether or not the little things are in place, the mechanics are in place. Secretary Buttigieg, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":170154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fullscreen-capture-11272023-31807-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=170153"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170155,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170153\/revisions\/170155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/170154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=170153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=170153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=170153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}