White House Newsletter + Thu Call Invite

November 30, 2022

Friends –

Please join us this Thursday, December 1st at 12pm ET for our weekly White House Faith and Community Engagement call. RSVP here to attend, and please share this invite with colleagues and members of your community. All are welcome.

Below are several updates on Administration priorities that may be relevant to your organization and community.

Student Loan Repayment Pause Extension
On Tuesday, November 22nd, the U.S. Department of Education announced an extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections. The extension will alleviate uncertainty for borrowers as the Biden-Harris Administration asks the Supreme Court to review the lower-court orders that are preventing the Department from providing debt relief for tens of millions of Americans. Payments will resume 60 days after the Department is permitted to implement the program or the litigation is resolved, which will give the Supreme Court an opportunity to resolve the case during its current Term. If the program has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30, 2023 – payments will resume 60 days after that. You can read more about the Biden-Harris Administration's continued fight for student debt relief for millions of borrowers here.

Biden Administration Announces Six-Week Campaign to Get More Americans their Updated COVID-⁠19 Vaccine Before End of the Year
On November 22nd, the Biden Administration announced a six-week campaign through the end of the year urging Americans to get their updated COVID-19 vaccine. With winter and holiday gatherings right around the corner, more Americans getting their updated vaccine will help avoid thousands of preventable COVID-19 deaths. The six-week campaign will focus on reaching seniors and the communities that were hardest hit by COVID-19 by making it even more convenient to get vaccinated and increasing awareness through paid media. You can read the full fact sheet here.

Summit for Democracy: Progress in the Year of Action
During the “Year of Action” following the first Summit for Democracy in December 2021, the United States and over 100 partner governments around the world have taken meaningful steps to build more resilient democracies, combat corruption, and defend human rights. Summit participants have undertaken important pro-democracy reforms at home, contributed to impactful multilateral initiatives, and worked together to resist authoritarian aggression, including Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine. President Biden is pleased to announce that on March 29-30, 2023, he will co-host the second Summit for Democracy with the leaders of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Zambia. This diverse group of co-hosts underscores the universal desire for accountable, transparent, and rights-respecting governance. You can read the full fact sheet here.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Expansion of Global Health Security Partnerships and Releases Annual Progress Report
As the world continues its fight against COVID-19, other ongoing outbreaks are stark reminders of the continued and constant threat posed by infectious diseases. The global Mpox outbreak and an Ebola outbreak in Uganda are just two of the most recent examples of how the risks and impact of emerging infectious diseases are increasing daily, and how global systems remain ill-equipped to identify and contain these threats.  The Biden-Harris Administration continues to prioritize global health security as a critical component of national biodefense.

On November 29th, the Administration announced new actions to advance global health security that accelerate implementation of the National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan for Countering Biological Threats, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness, and Achieving Global Health Security (Strategy).  With this Strategy, the Administration has charted a bold and ambitious roadmap to protect American lives and livelihoods, and protect against infectious disease threats, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate.  Partnering with countries to stop infectious disease threats at their source — by strengthening equitable health systems in their own regions — is an effective way to protect the health of Americans and people across the world. You can read about the expansion and annual progress report here.

Presidential Memorandum to Promote Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
On November 28th, President Biden signed a Presidential Memorandum on Promoting Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence to strengthen the U.S. government’s efforts to combat conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), a too-often overlooked and underreported crime. For each rape reported in connection with a conflict, the United Nations estimates that 10 to 20 cases go undocumented. The United States does not accept CRSV as an inevitable cost of armed conflict, and is committed to supporting survivors through all available measures —including legal, policy, diplomatic, and financial tools—to deter future violence. You can read the full memorandum here.

The Biden-Harris Administration Advances Transmission Buildout to Deliver Affordable Clean Electricity
President Biden is catalyzing development of thousands of miles of new and upgraded transmission lines that will reduce electricity costs for families and businesses, prevent power outages in the face of extreme weather, and create good-paying jobs in the clean energy economy. On November 18th, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that first-round applications are open for competitive grants under the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership Programs, which total $10.5 billion in available funding, as well as the $2.5 billion Transmission Facilitation Program. Funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these programs together represent the largest single direct federal investment in critical transmission and distribution infrastructure. You can read more here.
 
All best,

White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Team