US Executive Branch Update – June 18, 2021

This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day's press releases.

Note:  On Friday, the US Federal Government is observing the new Juneteenth holiday.

POTUS' Schedule*

10:30 a.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT receives the President's Daily Brief | Oval Office

2:15 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks on the COVID-19 response and the vaccination program | State Dining Room

2:55 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT departs The White House en route Wilmington, Delaware

3:50 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT arrives in Wilmington, Delaware

VPOTUS' Schedule*

9:30 a.m. EDT – the Vice President will travel to Atlanta, Georgia

11:55 a.m. EDT – the Vice President will tour a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site at Ebenezer Baptist Church

1:40 p.m. EDT – the Vice President will deliver remarks at a COVID vaccination mobilization event at Clark Atlanta University

4:40 p.m. EDT – the Vice President will participate in a conversation on voting rights with community leaders at Clark Atlanta University

6:15 p.m. EDT – the Vice President will depart Georgia en route Washington, D.C.

*The US President (POTUS) and Vice President's (VPOTUS) daily schedules are subject to change.

Recap of Thursday, June 17, 2021

Note: Bold hyperlinks spotlight COVID-19, the American Jobs Plan and reopening developments.

The White House

• Remarks by President Biden at Signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act
• Bill Signed Into Law:
• • 475, the "Juneteenth National Independence Day Act"
• Transcript: On-the-Record Press Call by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the President's Trip to Europe
• Transcript: Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials
• Statement by President Joe Biden on the U.S. Supreme Court Decision Upholding the Affordable Care Act
• Nominations Sent to the Senate

Department of Defense (DOD)

• Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Juneteenth
• Congressional Testimony: Secretary of Defense Opening Testimony at the Senate Appropriations Committee (as prepared)
• Article: Fiscal 2022 DOD Budget Request Looks to Future Preparedness
• Press Release: Chief Trial Judge Named For Military Commissions
• Press Release: DOD Awards $37.6 Million Contract to Showa Best Glove, Inc. to Increase Domestic Production Capacity of Nitrile Gloves
• Contracts for June 17, 2021

Department of State

• Daily Schedule | Friday, June 18
• June 18: Advisory | Secretary Blinken's Travel to Germany, France, Italy, and the Vatican (June 22-29)
• June 17: Sanctions | Designation of Republic of Guatemala Congressperson Boris España Cáceres Due to Involvement in Significant Corruption
• June 17: Readout | Secretary Blinken's Call with President Carter (re: Nicaragua)
• June 17: Readout | Secretary Blinken's Call with Brazilian Foreign Minister França
• June 17: Readout | Secretary Blinken's Call with Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Lapid
• June 17: Readout | Secretary Blinken's Call with Libyan Interim Foreign Minister Mangoush
• June 17: Readout | Deputy Secretary Sherman's Meeting with German State Secretary Berger
• June 17: Advisory | Travel of Special Representative for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Sung Kim to Seoul
• June 17: Statement | Department Renews Charter of Overseas Schools Advisory Council
• June 17: Transcript | Department Press Briefing

US Agency for International Development (USAID)

• Readout: USAID Administrator Samantha Power Visits Guatemala
• Press Release: United States Announces Additional Humanitarian Assistance for the Venezuela Regional Crisis
• Press Release: USAID Provides $91 Million in Urgently Needed Food, Water, and Health Care for COVID-19 Response Across Africa

US Mission to the United Nations (UN)

• Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on Haiti
• Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on the United States Government's Support for Venezuelan Refugees, Migrants, and Hosting Countries
• Statement: Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield Announces New Lifesaving Assistance to Respond to the Venezuela Regional Crisis

Department of the Treasury

• Readout: Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen's Meeting with Mexican Finance Secretary Arturo Herrera Gutiérrez
• Readout: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo's Community Tour of Baltimore, Maryland
• Guidance: Treasury Issues Additional COVID-19-related Sanctions Authorizations and Guidance
• Congressional Testimony of Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen to the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives

Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)

• Press Release: SEC Charges Investment Advisers with Cherry-Picking, Obtains Asset Freeze

Department of Justice

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) | Daily Press Releases
• Press Release: CITGO Petroleum Corp. Will Pay Over $19 Million for Injuries to Natural Resources Resulting from its Oil Spill at its Refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana
• Press Release: Justice Department Settles with North Carolina School District to Provide Equal Opportunities to English Learner Students
• Press Release: Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime After Unprovoked Stabbing of Black Man
• Press Release: Justice Department Settles with North Carolina Dental Offices Over HIV Discrimination
• Press Release: Two Former Tennessee Correctional Officers Sentenced for Civil Rights Offenses

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Customs and Border Protection (CBP)/US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)

• Press Release: Message from Secretary Mayorkas on the Observance of Juneteenth
• Press Release: Border Patrol Arrests Convicted Sex Offender (California)
• Press Release: Eight Undocumented Individuals Rescued Within Six Hours on Tuesday (California)
• Press Release: Yuma Agents Arrest Registered Sex Offender (Arizona)
• Press Release: AMO Rescues Woman Suffering from Serious Heat Injury (Texas)
• Press Release: Previously Deported Rapist Arrested by Border Patrol (Texas)
• Press Release: Suspected Smuggler Rescued in Rio Grande (Texas)
• Press Release: LaFonda Sutton-Burke Takes Command of CBP's Chicago Field Office; Largest geographic field office in the nation (Texas)
• Press Release: 167 Pounds of Illegal Testosterone & Steroids Seized by Louisville CBP (Kentucky)
• Statement from USCIS Acting Director Tracy L. Renaud on World Refugee Day June 20, 202
• Press Release: USCIS Clarifies Evidence Requirements Under Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

• Press Release: FEMA Concludes Vaccination Effort in Southern Colorado
• Press Release: FEMA Provides an Additional $5.9 Million to North Dakota for COVID-19 Response
• Press Release: Don't Delay. Register Today! One Week Left to Apply for Disaster Assistance and SBA Disaster Loans (Alabama)
• Press Release: 2021 Hurricane Season: FEMA, VITEMA, and GVI Partners in Preparation (U.S. Virgin Islands)

Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR)

• Joint Public Statement on the Inaugural Meeting of the Environment Committee of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
• Joint US – UK Statement on a Cooperative Framework for Large Civil Aircraft
• Statement by Ambassador Katherine Tai on the US – UK Cooperative Framework on Large Civil Aircrafts
• Fact Sheet:  U.S. – UK Understanding on a Cooperative Framework for Large Civil Aircrafts

Department of Commerce

• Press Release: NTIA Creates First Interactive Map to Help Public See the Digital Divide Across the Country

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• Press Release: FTC and the State of Arkansas Charge Operators of "Blessing Loom" With Running an Illegal Pyramid Scheme

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

• Press Release: FCC Adopts Rules for Robocall Reporting Portal for Private Entities
• Press Release: EB Seeks Comments on Selecting Robocall Tracebacks Consortium
• Press Release: FCC Denies HobbyKing's Petition for Reconsideration
• Press Release: FCC Further Strengthens Emergency Alerting
• Press Release: Equipment Authorization and Competitive Bidding Supply Chain NPRM
• Press Release: Allowing Earlier Equipment Marketing and Importation Opportunities
• Press Release: Extension of Filing Deadlines Falling on Federal Holiday Observed
• Press Release: Carr Applauds Round 2, Next Steps in Connected Care Pilot
• Press Release: FCC Approves Connected Care Pilot Program Guidance & 36 Projects

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices Final Rule
• Press Release: USDA Selects 2021 Class of E. Kika De La Garza Fellows

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

• Press Release: FERC, NARUC to Establish Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission
• Press Release: States, Transmission Providers May Enter Into Voluntary Agreements, FERC Says
• Press Release: Staff Presentations on Order Establishing a Joint Federal -State Task Force on Electric Transmission (E-1) & State Voluntary Agreements to Plan and Pay for Transmission Facilities (E-2)
• Press Release: FERC Sets Demand Response Opt-Out for Further Consideration
• Press Release: FERC Approves License Transfer for Lower Klamath Hydro Project

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Press Release: Agencies Seek Public Comment on Joint Radiation Site Inspection Manual
• Press Release: EPA Announces Selections of Charter Members to the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee
• Press Release: EPA Issues Order to eBay to Stop Selling 170 Unregistered, Misbranded Pesticides
• Link:  Other Daily EPA Press Releases

Department of Labor

• Press Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report
• Press Release: U.S. Department of Labor announces availability of more than $21M in grants for training on workplace hazards, infectious diseases
• Press Release: U.S. Postal Service failed to prevent blocked, obstructed exits, other safety violations at Lehigh Valley facility

Health & Human Services (HHS)

• Statement by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on U.S. Supreme Court Decision to Uphold the Affordable Care Act in California v. Texas
• Press Release: Biden Administration to Invest $3 Billion from American Rescue Plan as Part of COVID-19 Antiviral Development Strategy
• Press Release: HHS Announces $80 million in American Rescue Plan Funding to Strengthen U.S. Public Health IT, Improve COVID-19 Data Collection, and Bolster Representation of Underrepresented Communities in Public Health IT Workforce

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

• Press Release: FDA Approves a Nasal Antihistamine for Nonprescription Use
• Press Release: FDA Announces Qualification of a Medical Device Development Tool to Help Assess Patient- Reported Outcomes with LASIK Surgery
• Press Release: FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Remanufacturing and Discussion Paper Seeking Feedback on Cybersecurity Servicing of Medical Devices

US Government (USG) COVID-19 Webpages

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 webpage
• Department of Defense COVID-19 webpage
• Department of State COVID-19 Travel Advisory webpage
• Office of Personnel Management COVID-19 webpage
• Food and Drug Administration COVID-19 webpage
• Department of Homeland Security Employee COVID-19 webpage
• Department of Labor COVID-19 webpage
• USAGov COVID-19 webpage

Non-USG COVID Webpages

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine

• Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker (tracks vaccine distribution in the United States)
• Coronavirus Resource Center
• • COVID-19 Interactive Map

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.