Biden wants Congress to take action on gun reform

The call for gun reform comes on the third anniversary of the Parkland shooting.

ByLibby Cathey, Emily Shapiro, Tia Humphries, Lauren King, and Morgan Winsor
Last Updated: February 16, 2021, 1:00 PM EST

This is Day 26 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Top headlines:

Here is how events are unfolding. All times Eastern.
Feb 05, 2021, 11:34 AM EST

Administration announces 3 ways it's using Defense Production Act to combat COVID-19

Tim Manning, the COVID-19 response team’s supply chain coordinator, announced Friday that the administration is using the Defense Production Act in three ways: getting Pfizer more equipment to ramp up vaccine production; increasing supply of at-home tests to 60 million by the summer; and building plants to produce surgical gloves in the U.S.

In this file photo a health worker carries syringes to administer Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines at the opening of a new vaccination site at Corsi Houses in Harlem, New York, on Jan. 15, 2021.
Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

Meanwhile, 1,110 active-duty military personnel will be assigned to assist at vaccination sites, the White House COVID-19 response team said.

A National Guard soldier helps to check-in a person waiting to make an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccination site at Yankee Stadium on Feb. 05, 2021, in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The personnel -- including Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps -- will be divided into five teams of 222 personnel each.

FEMA and the Department of Defense will jointly determine when military vaccination capabilities are no longer required.

-ABC News' Matthew Seyler

Feb 05, 2021, 10:47 AM EST

House Dems meet with Biden on $1.9 trillion COVID relief package: ‘We can't do too much,’ Biden says

House Democrats met with Biden at the White House Friday morning to discuss his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package -- the president’s first in-person meeting with House Democrats since he was sworn in.

Ahead of the meeting, Biden compared his push for the relief package to the effort in 2009 to get the Recovery Act passed. 

“It was hard as hell to get the votes for it to begin with,” the president said of the massive stimulus plan during the first weeks of the Obama Administration. “Then it was hard as hell to get even the number we got.”  

“But one thing we learned: We can't do too much here. We can do too little. We can do too little and sputter," Biden said.

President Joe Biden, speaks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer were among the members in attendance. Biden sat between Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and others during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House Feb. 5, 2021, in Washington.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and others during a meeting about the economy and COVID relief in the Oval Office of the White House Feb. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

PHOTO: President Joe Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Rep. Peter DeFazio in the Oval Office of the White House.
President Joe Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, right, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, seated second left, and Rep. Peter DeFazio, seated left, in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP

-ABC News’ Karen Travers and Sarah Kolinovsky

Feb 05, 2021, 10:07 AM EST

Biden tells African Union the US has 'mutual respect' for them

Biden has recorded his first remarks for an international summit, taping a short video message in advance of the African Union Summit.

"The United States stands ready now to be your partner in solidarity, support, and mutual respect," Biden said in the remarks posted by the White House overnight. "We believe in the nations of Africa, in the continent-wide spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation."

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

Feb 05, 2021, 9:41 AM EST

Congressional Democrats propose up to $50,000 in debt cancelation

Congressional Democrats renewed calls Thursday for Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loans per person.

The Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, said Thursday that canceling loans would provide a much-needed boost to the economy and help lift communities of color.

"Debt holds people back from buying cars, from going on vacations, from starting families, from getting the job they want to get, it's a huge anchor on our entire economy," Schumer said. "There's very little that the president could do with a flick of a pen that would boost our economy more than canceling $50,000 of student debt."

However, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that Biden supports a more modest proposal: up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness per person.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

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