White House Updates: Weed Did It, Joe!

Governor Moore Announces Additional Members of Executive Staff

Governor Moore Signs 1st Executive Orders on Ethics and Creation of the Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation

Governor Moore Releases $69 Million in Previously-Withheld Funding

(WHITE HOUSE – October 10, 2022) – Happy Monday! To be blunt, the dopest announcement of last week was President Biden’s full and unconditional pardon of all federal offenses for simple possession of marijuana.

Candidate Biden told you during the campaign that NO ONE should be in jail solely for marijuana possession and now President Biden is showing you while calling on governors to do the same.

See details here and listen to Senior Advisor to the President and OPE Director Keisha Lance Bottoms discuss how this will give thousands of Americans new opportunities for housing, education and jobs on the Joe Madison Show here.

What’s Happening This Week?

California Love: From Wednesday, October 12 to Friday, October 14, the President will travel to California. From Friday, October 14 to Saturday, October 15, the President will travel to Oregon. Additional details to follow.

Spread the Word: Medicare health and drug plans can make changes each year—things like cost, coverage, and what providers and pharmacies are in their networks. October 15 to December 7 is when all people with Medicare can change their Medicare health plans and prescription drug coverage for the following year to better meet their needs.

Family Glitch: Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris Administration proposed a rule to fix “Family Glitch” and lower health care costs. This week, there will likely be an update on their efforts to ensure everyone has vital access to health care. Stay tuned!

Public Service Announcement for Public Servants: Calling all public servants including firefighters, doctors, nurses, government employees, police officers, non-profit employees, school staff and others, it’s easier now than ever to get loan forgiveness under temporary changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Apply by October 31^st at PSLF.gov.

More to come throughout the week.

ICYMI

(cues Rihanna): Friday’s jobs report shows people are at Work, Work, Work, Work Work!

- - The unemployment rate matched a 50-year low (3.5%).
  - There were 263,000 jobs added in September.
  - The Black unemployment rate ticked down to the lowest rate since the pandemic started.
  - The unemployment rate for Black teens fell to 12.7 percent, the second lowest ever, and lower than any pre-pandemic level.
  - POTUS has added nearly 10 million jobs but there is no doubt we have more work to do to achieve equal employment for Americans.

Click here for more from White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.

Laying Down the Hammer on Student Debt Scammers:

The Biden-Harris Administration student debt relief initiative could benefit as many as 40 million Americans.

Last week, the White House announced ongoing and expanded efforts to combat scams and misinformation, including educating borrowers about how to protect themselves against scams and accelerating efforts to share scam complaints with states.

See here for details on these efforts.

The Real MVP:

In exciting news on Tuesday, Madame Vice President announced a slate of new actions taken by the Biden-Harris Administration and private sector stakeholders to deliver capital and resources to underserved small businesses and the community lenders who serve them. For too long, the small business ecosystem in underserved communities has struggled to keep up with better-funded businesses and entrepreneurs in more prosperous communities.

Over the past two years, the Treasury Department invested over $15 billion in community lenders and other mission capital providers, allowing them to expand their efforts to drive inclusive entrepreneurship and create high-opportunity communities. See full details on the announcement here.

Hurricane Ian:

The state of Florida and FEMA have activated the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program for Hurricane Ian survivors in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia counties.

Survivors from these counties who have applied for disaster assistance may be eligible to shelter in a hotel or motel paid for by FEMA. They may be eligible for TSA if they cannot return to their home and their housing needs cannot be met by insurance, shelters, or rental assistance provided by FEMA or another agency (federal, state, or nonprofit).

See more information here.

For Your Retweeting Pleasure

https://twitter.com/WHCOS/status/1577261942162731009

https://twitter.com/EricaLoewe46/status/1576383537577480192

https://twitter.com/theGrio/status/1578852777656131584