Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, Jennifer Rene Psaki, and Jennifer Klein

“ We are, right? So we were — we’re working closely with — we have the Gender Policy Council, but there’s also the Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council, and obviously the National Security Council. We work closely and we’ve already started this fluid collaboration with our colleagues in the other councils to make sure we are deliberately integrating gender equity and equality in terms of the economic plans in their work.Obviously, our colleagues are very mindful of this, but we are reinforcing it in our own, kind of, daily routine and that is part of our job. ”

“ Given what the President said yesterday with the executive order that he signed and what’s in that executive order, I wonder if you can explain why pushing for voting rights isn’t — a legislative move on voting rights isn’t higher up on the agenda for the President as you’re sequencing these things, especially given all of the changes that are being pushed in a lot of states to voting rights. ”

“ These two executive order together are a statement of the commitment of the Biden-Harris administration to advancing gender equality and equity. We are — will be working urgently to ensure that, both here in the United States and globally, gender and gender identity do not predetermine opportunity and outcomes, and that all people, including women and girls and those who face other forms of discrimination, can thrive. ”

“ There are — we are looking at — obviously the President is looking at additional paths and legislation coming down over the next couple of months to also build the incentives to generate jobs for Americans and, obviously, women being a major part of that.
But our goal, Jen and I, is to really look at long-term structural changes that can advance the full integration of women — women of color, women all over — so that issues of discrimination and equity and equality in the labor force and in pay can be addressed in a systemic manner, long term. ”

“ Today, on International Women’s Day, the President signed two executive orders. The first establishes the White House Gender Policy Council to ensure that the Biden administration advances gender equity and equal rights and opportunity for women and girls. The second directs the Department of Education to review all of its existing regulations, orders, guidance, and policies for consistency with the administration’s policy to guarantee education free from sexual violence. ”

“ We’re excited about the expertise that we have that our dedicated staff brings to improve our nation’s commitment to preventing and responding to gender-based violence, which, as many of you know, has long been a priority and a commitment of President Biden.
The executive order designates a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor on Gender-Based Violence on the Council staff. And in addition, we’ll have at least two additional Special Assistants to the President for Gender Policy who will work on a number of issues, including the ones that Julissa outlined. ”

“ I would just add that, you know, what we’ve experienced — what women have experienced, but all of us have experienced over the course of the last literal year is a public health crisis, an economic crisis, and really, on top of that, a caregiving crisis.So, I would just note that the American Rescue Plan has a number of provisions in it that will bring immediate relief to women and help women get back to work, and those range from those individual payments that will go to individuals and to families. ”

“ A typical family of four making $100,000 will get $5,600 in direct checks. Lifting 11 million people out of poverty and cutting child poverty in half this year, including through a historic expansion of the Child Tax Credit that will benefit 66 million kids across the country. Extending unemployment insurance for around 11 million Americans. As you all know, that would — we would have hit a point where people would be losing it later this week, if we were not headed toward the passage of this bill. ”

“ We will ensure access to comprehensive healthcare. We will strengthen efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, and develop a National Action Plan that establishes a government-wide approach both domestically and globally. We will promote equity and opportunity in education, leadership, and we’ll work to advance gender equality globally through diplomacy, development, trade, and defense. ”

“ A year into COVID-19, it is clear that women have been disproportionately impacted by the combined public health crisis, ensuring economic crisis — ensuing economic crisis, and caregiving crisis. The pandemic has exacerbated barriers that have historically impacted women and girls. ”

“ Expanding the earned income tax credit to 17 million low-income workers. And significantly reducing — and this is a piece of it that hasn’t received a lot of attention — health insurance premiums for millions of Americans. So, a family of four making $90,000 could see their monthly premiums go down by $200 a month, and that’s in addition to direct checks they’ll be receiving, the child tax credit they’ll be receiving, and other components. ”

“ Q The President has said there’ll be enough vaccine supply to vaccinate every American adult by the middle of May. What does that mean for the White House’s plans to develop a proposal to export vaccines to other areas of the world? MS. PSAKI: Well, as the President has said — and we’ve said, I guess, the — our priority is ensuring that the American people are vaccinated. And we, of course, remain committed to being vital partners in the global community. There are a couple of factors that we are — certainly our health team considers. We don’t know which vaccine is most effective for children ”

“ It’s a — it’s a policy area that’s close to the President’s heart — one he’s had a lot of interest in and commitment to even to when he was Vice President and before. There’s been historic bipartisan support for that.
Immigration — modernizing our immigration system. Historic bipartisan support for efforts moving forward. The President is an optimist by nature, otherwise he probably wouldn’t be in this job, and he believes that there is opportunity to work with Democrats and Republicans to get work done for the American people. ”

“ There is — the majority of people who come to the border are turned away. Yes, we are — we have changed the policies of the last administration as it relates to unaccompanied children, but the majority of families, adults — the vast, vast majority — are turned away at the border. ”

“ Well, first let me say the President’s position on the rights of transgender kids to play sports is clear: He signs an executive order, and he believes transgender rights are human rights and wants to see kids have the opportunity to play sports and participate in a range of activities.I would say we expected — as there often is with vote-a-ramas — there to be a range of amendments that he would oppose. ”

“ Because we have a large number of kids, unaccompanied children, who are coming across the border. We’ve made a policy decision, as an administration, that the humane and moral approach is to keep these kids safe and get them into facilities that are safe.There are some limitations, which I know many of you are familiar with because of COVID restrictions and protocols, that reduce the capacity at a number of these sites. ”

“ I don’t have — I don’t — as many Americans did and many people around the world. You know, Meghan Markle is a private citizen and so is Harry at this point. For anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story — that takes courage, and that’s certainly something the President believes. ”

“ MS. PSAKI: I mean, he is supportive of the legislation. Right? He talked about — he put out a supportive statement. We had a supportive statement of administration policy on the passage through the House. It’s something that he conveyed in that. He would look to see — he would support that moving through the Senate. Obviously, there’s are — there are a range of means of working with states on their own approaches, working with Congress on a range of ways to help increase voting rights and access, and he and his team are eager to continue to do that. ”

“ We will focus on increasing economic security and opportunity by addressing the structural barriers of women’s participation in the labor force, decreasing wage and wealth gaps, and addressing the caregiving needs of American families and supporting care workers. ”

“ Is the White House basically ensuring people that their unemployment — that enhanced unemployment — that they’ll be able to still get that and that there will be no lapse there? And also, is there a concern about what happened last time, where there was a backlog at the IRS and there was a backlog in checks going out to people? ”

“ I mean, I would note that we are very inclusive in our definition of gender, and we intend to address all sorts of discrimination and, you know, fight for equal rights for people, whether that’s LGBTQ+ people, women, girls — MS. REYNOSO: Men. ”

“ Q And what’s the administration’s plan to make sure that low-income people who didn’t file a tax return because they make — they don’t make enough income make sure that they get the money? Because I think in the last go-around in the previous administration, there was some 8 million people who were eligible but didn’t get the money. ”

“ We will stand with friends and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values in the Indo-Pacific region. We maintain our longstanding commitments, as outlined in the Three Communiqués, the Taiwan Relations Act, and the Six Assurances. And we will continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability. ”

“ But it is an area — it is an area of policy discussion: how will we continue to accommodate, in a safe and humane way, these kids. And our objective remains moving them as quickly as possible out of the Border Patrol facilities. In order to do that, we need to have shelter facilities that are safe; that have access to educational resources, legal resources, health and medical resources ”

“ What are the implications long-term right now given that he doesn’t have any Republican support for this? MS. PSAKI: Well, first, the door of the Oval Office remains open to bipartisan work, and I expect he will continue to work with and reach out to Democrats, of course, but also Republicans about ways to work together. And he’s had a number of bipartisan meetings, even in the last few weeks — a couple on infrastructure, on cancer. He feels there is a — certainly is a path forward. ”

“ Can you speak about more about the plan — or maybe it’s an intended plan to boost the declining number of women in the workforce, specifically black and Latino women who have been disproportionately hard hit by the pandemic? ”

“ And in addition to those within the government, we’ll work with partners outside government: nonprofit and community-based organizations, state and local and tribal organizations, the private sector, foreign governments, and multilateral organizations. ”

“ Tens of billions of dollars in rental and homeowners assistance that will benefit lower income, disproportionately black and brown communities, renters, and homeowners. And also the most significant investment in American childcare since World War Two. ”

“ Q Senator Manchin was also asked about infrastructure, and he said that he felt that any big infrastructure package should be paid for, and he suggested that corporate tax hikes might be one way to pay for a massive infrastructure bill. ”

“ Q But will we get a readout on what these children, whom we’ve not been able to speak to ourselves, are saying to the delegation of 14 members that went on the conditions that they’re being held in? Or if not a readout on this conversation — on what these kids told people like Julissa, can we get it ourselves? MS. PSAKI: Well, first, we — as I said when you asked the question earlier, we are very open to and support — and the President does — providing access to these facilities. We need to do that in a way that is — protects the privacy of these kids, who are under 18 ”