Miguel Angel Cardona and Jennifer Rene Psaki

“ I know there’s Border Patrol agents quoted in a lot of your stories, and you speak to frequently. And that’s something we support. It’s — obviously, there’s a long tradition of coordinating with Department of Homeland Security. But if we are — if our — if our policy is — is keeping people quiet, we are not successful. And it is not our policy to prevent people from talking. ”

“ You know, I’m really pleased that, at the state level, they recognize — many states recognize the importance of vaccinating educators — not only teachers, but para-educators, custodians, bus drivers. They’re critically important parts of that school community.So we know that that’s a priority in different states. And I think it’s — as I said earlier, it’s part of the strategy to make sure that our schools are safely reopened, in addition to those mitigation strategies that we know, when working, we can also use to safely reopen our schools. ”

“ So, the President has spoken out strongly about the need to halt violence against Asian Americans. You know, as the Education Secretary, do you see some role for the federal government to play in terms of spreading, you know, a message of tolerance or, you know, to work against discrimination? SECRETARY CARDONA: My condolences to the family and the communities that suffered that violence. In education, we have a lot of work to do. We have to reopen our schools, and we also have to make sure that we’re preparing our students for a tomorrow that we want for our students.So, thank you. ”

“ And we’re in March and we still have some of the school year left.We’re looking to release funds this month. And we know that schools are needing that to not only prepare for reopening now, but also to plan ahead. We know that when our students come back, they’re going to need more social, emotional support. We know that our schools have to be designed to meet the needs of the students after they return after a pandemic. ”

“ And then, thirdly, I’m really, really excited to announce that next week we will be having our National Reopening Summit for schools, where we’re going to hear best practices from across the country on how to do this safely and how to do it quickly, because we know there are great examples out there. We know students learn best from students, teachers learn best from teachers, and states will learn best from states on how to safely reopen schools quickly. ”

“ I think our criticism was in response to questions about whether we were concerned about how vaccines were being used in some ways by Russia and China — in ways that they’ve used aid and international assistance, where there are no strings attached. And sometimes, it allows countries to hold themselves to lower standards on human rights, on freedom of press, freedom of speech. ”

“ The prior administration also did not consider that there were other mitigation efforts like masking, improved ventilation, cohorting, and other measures that would contain the spread of COVID. There’s now revised CDC guidance, which means there’s greater capacity in these facilities where we can expedite children — expedite getting children into them. There are — we are taking steps to ensure that when kids come to the border, we look and see if they have a phone number in their pocket so we can call the family member and get them to those family members as quickly as possible. ”

“ You know, we’re hearing from Border agents that they’re frustrated that they can’t show us what’s actually happening along the border; they can’t do ride-alongs; they can’t answer questions about what’s happening inside. ”

“ Well, first, our — the President’s relationship and this administration’s relationship with the Russians will be very different from what we’ve seen over the last four years. And we’ve already seen evidence of that from his first phone call with President Putin.President Biden has been clear that the United States will also respond to a number of destabilizing Russian actions. And as you know, and as we’ve already talked about, we have requested new or declassified intelligence community assessments in four such areas and plan to respond to each of them in the coming weeks. Those are ongoing. ”

“ And so we are still in the midst of fighting a war against the pandemic right here.Now, we have vaccinated more people in this country because of access, because of supply, because of operational capacity than virtually any other country in the world. ”

“ It’s going to take some time. We’re working through it. Every day, we have new steps and new improvements we’re taking to make the system more efficient and effective.
Q So is there a limit or a cap to the number of unaccompanied minors that are going to be allowed into the U.S.? MS. PSAKI: A limit or a cap? Q Or cap. MS. PSAKI: So should we send some kids, who are 10, back at a certain point? Is that what you’re asking me? Q I’m not setting the policy here; I’m just asking you what the Biden administration’s policy is. Is there a limit to the number of children that will be allowed in? ”

“ It depends on how much money you make. Are you a billionaire? Then you may pay more in taxes than someone making — you know, a family making $425 [thousand] . You know, there’s going to be a range in any tax proposal. He talked about this on the campaign trail, and his — he talked about it during this interview last night, in part because it’s on his mind about how to ensure people are paying their fair share and that we are looking for revenue funds to continue to build back better.But I don’t have a timeline for you on when you’ll hear more. ”

“ Again, we remain committed to sharing with all of you data on the number of kids crossing the border, the steps we’re taking, the work we’re doing to open up facilities, our own bar we’re setting for ourselves in improving the — and expediting the timeline, and the — the treatment of these children. And we remain committed to transparency. I don’t have an update for you on the timeline for access, but it’s certainly something we support. ”

“ We know achievement and opportunity gaps have widened, so it’s critically important that that process is — is not only communicated with the — with the Education Department, but publicly as well.We will be receiving reports from the states on how they’re going to be using their money, and we also expect those reports to be public. ”

“ Obviously, the President spoke to this during an interview that he conducted just last night. And we are going to be straightforward and we are going to be direct in areas where we have concerns.As you know, there is an ongoing review. And the President has — while we have announced key conclusions from an intelligence community assessment on the poisoning of Aleksey Navalny, we have — there’s an ongoing review of other areas where we have ongoing concerns.
At the same time, we have areas where we believe we can work together. ”

“ Most of these kids are fleeing very challenging circumstances.
And his view is that there’s a number of steps we need to take and steps that he hopes he can work with Democrats and Republicans on. So that’s his goal.
Q How is that message communicated to the — we heard him, obviously, in the interview. How is that message being communicated by the U.S. government to those thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, who are already in the midst of this dangerous journey that they’re making the border right now, and they are not receiving that message? MS. PSAKI: The thousands of children? ”

“ They’re trying to save people’s lives, keep people safe, and return our country to normal. Q On schools, billions are going out to try to get them to reopen now. If, come fall, the schools are still unopen, would the administration find that unacceptable? MS. PSAKI: We certainly expect schools to be open in the fall. Q And then — MS. PSAKI: Go — okay. Q — on airports — MS. PSAKI: Yep. Q Milli- — TSA reporting big numbers going through airports. Is the administration worried that the COVID-19 Response Team’s message is just not getting through to people? They’re telling people, “Don’t travel. ”

“ Go ahead. Q — schools that I didn’t get to ask the Secretary. But I know the White House is committed to trying to open schools five days a week. How many hours a day would that include? Is it — are you pushing for full school days, five days a week? MS. PSAKI: Yep.Go ahead. Oh, go ahead. Go ahead.
Q Thank you. MS. PSAKI: I’m very drawn to the green. I’m sorry. Go ahead. And the red — the red and the green, you know? Go ahead. (Laughter.) Q The President said, in the Oval Office, he didn’t — going back to Atlanta, and then I want to ask you another question on the border. ”