Jennifer Rene Psaki

“ Well, we certainly have been watching this issue closely, as you well know, and we’ve taken our own strong actions in order to prevent China from profiting off of its horrific human rights abuses in Xinjiang and to stop imports of products made with forced labor in China.American consumers and consumers everywhere deserve to know that their goods are — that the goods they are buying are not made with forced labor, and many companies are standing up for consumers’ rights. ”

“ We understand the careful considerations that the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee are weighing as they prepare for the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The government of Japan has stressed that public health remains the central priority as they plan to host the Games. ”

“ He wants to get work done for the American people. He wants to put in place solutions, put people back to work, get the pandemic under control, make voting easier and more accessible.And it’s really on Republicans in Congress to decide if they’re going to be part of the solution or if they’re going to be part of obstruction. ”

“ The President has said he wants bipartisan support, I think, for an infrastructure package as well. Is that possible when Republicans are pretty adamant they don’t want tax increases? In other words, how can you achieve bipartisan support for infrastructure if Republicans are drawing the line — a hard line on taxes? ”

“ The international community, in our view, should oppose China’s weaponizing of private companies’ dependence on its markets to stifle free expression and inhibit ethical business practices. So it is something we are watching closely. ”

“ The American Rescue Plan makes the single biggest investment in childcare since World War Two. This is hopefully going to help bring more women back into the workforce and address what the Vice President and the President have both called a crisis. ”

“ When children arrive at the border — migrant children arrive — and they’re not with their biological parents or with their aunts, uncles, grandparents, they are sometimes separated from them and they become an unaccompanied minor at that point. Is the administration looking at changing that policy to let (inaudible) stay together when they’re not a biological parent? ”

“ It’s happening. We are launching a public campaign. There are some details that have been out and reported, I believe, in the Wall Street Journal. We’ll get all that information out to all of you.I will say that what we have learned from our own data is that part of our investment and focus needs to be in trusted voices and trusted partners. We’ve seen some improvement in confidence among a range of communities in the efficacy of the vaccine. That’s — that’s good news, right?
What we have seen concern about and what we still have concern about is access, and that is the big issue. ”

“ No problem.First, as the President conveyed yesterday, he feels that voting rights are — pushing back on voting rights, making it harder to vote, is un-American. It is something that should not be a part of society in any regard. Even many Republicans across the country oppose the efforts that have been undertaken in states like Georgia to make it more difficult. ”

“ He’s worried about how this initiative — how this initiative sets in place allowing states to — preventing states, I should say, to bring water to people standing in line waiting to vote; deciding what you’re going to end vote — deciding to end voting at five o’clock when working people are just getting off of work — making it more challenging, not easier to vote ”

“ Georgia has signed into law new restrictions on voting. President Biden has expressed his moral outrage over that. There’s legislation in Congress, but does the administration plan to take any executive actions or file any lawsuits opposing these new laws? MS. PSAKI: Well, the administration has taken executive actions on voting rights, and, of course, we will continue to review options in that regard.I will say we expect to have a statement from the President on these — these voting laws — this voting law, I should say, that passed in Georgia. ”

“ Q And as you make now the infrastructure package your next priority, where does immigration reform fall on the list of priorities for this White House? MS. PSAKI: Any White House, including ours, has to walk and chew gum at the same time, move forward on a range of priorities, a range of crises facing the country. So we will continue to work with members of Congress, work with outside groups, continue to advocate for moving long-overdue immigration reform forward.Go ahead. ”

“ We obviously have made a great deal of progress on, again, the people who are running and leading these agencies more than any administration since the Reagan administration. We feel very good about that.We’ve also walked into a White — a presidency where he is dealing with a pandemic that is still killing 1,000 people a day; 10 million people out of work ”

“ It should not be harder, it should be easier to vote. We should not put limitations in place. People should be able to vote from home. They should be able to use absentee ballots. There should be a range of restrictions that are undone, not put back in place. And so that’s of great concern — one he certainly shares with the — with the elected official who was arrested. ”

“ Q So what happens if the report comes out and President Biden is not satisfied with it? MS. PSAKI: Not satisfied with the report? Q (Inaudible.) MS. PSAKI: Well, we’ve also — we’ve also called for an international investigation and look into what’s — what’s happened and the origin — not just the origin, I should say — the lack of transparency from the Chinese. We have reinstituted or reengaged with — through staffing of our — of our team on the ground in Beijing.So we’ll see what the report says. Where we have concerns, we’ll look at the underlying data, if we have access to that. ”

“ He wants it to be the right person. And, you know, there sometimes is a journey on personnel and determining who the right person is for the job, who’s willing to do the job, who’s available to do the job. ”

“ And they are not in a position to accept and take the families that they have in the past. So that’s part of the diplomatic discussions that we’re having.
Q Okay, and just one more about yesterday. We noticed, starting at the end of the campaign and then into the transition and here at the White House, anytime that the President has an event where he’s given a list of reporters to call on, Fox is the only member of the five-network TV pool that has never been on the list in front of the President. And I’m just curious if that is an official administration policy. ”

“ So the family units, 87 percent of them are being taken into the United States to either be resettled or await — await their hearings. I’m just curious, 87 percent in the country of the family units is not a majority being sent back. MS. PSAKI: A majority of adults, which every adult is not a part of a family unit, as I’m sure you’re fully tracking. Q Correct. MS. PSAKI: And tens of thousands of people are coming to our border. We know that. And so the majority of adults are being turned away.Our policy remains the same: We are implementing Section [Title] 42. ”

“ Well, first, actually, 76 percent of schools are — do have teaching, do have kids in the classroom for part of the week; and about 46 percent are back five days a week. And we expect that to continue to increase over time. Q Right, but the President said, “the majority.” He wants the majority to be back — MS. PSAKI: Right, by day 100. And we’re on — Q — five days a week. Yes. Right. MS. PSAKI: — track to meet that objective.I will say that we took a step, in this administration, to prioritize teachers through our pharmacy program. We — that program is working; it’s effective. Teachers can go. ”