Biden says 'no time to waste' on COVID relief bill
He made brief remarks Saturday after the House passed the legislation.
This is Day 40 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Latest headlines:
WH promotes supply chain fixes ahead of EO signging
National Economic Council Deputy Director Sameera Fazili and National Security Council Senior Director of International Economics and Competitiveness Peter Harrell joined a White House press briefing to discuss the executive order Biden will sign Wednesday afternoon that will commence an investigation and deliver recommendations to fix supply chain vulnerabilities revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Make no mistake, we are not simply planning to order up reports. We are going to be taking actions to close gaps as we identify them..." Harrell said.
The executive order will mandate a 100-day review of critical product supply chains in the U.S. focused on those for computer chips, large capacity batteries, active pharmaceutical ingredients and critical minerals and strategic materials, including rare earth minerals.
Fazili argued the investigation could be good for the U.S. economy.
"There are opportunities for small business development to help diversify supplier networks and alleviate the risk of too-big-to-fail companies in the supply chains for critical goods," Fazili said. "There are opportunities to improve worker readiness and training so they have the skills needed to ramp up research, production, or distribution of a critical good."
160 CEOs ask Congress to pass COVID-19 relief
One hundred and sixty chief executive officers sent an open letter to congressional leadership Wednesday, urging lawmakers to pass "immediate and large-scale federal legislation to address the health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic" on a bipartisan basis.
The letter asks Congress to "to authorize a stimulus and relief package along the lines of the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed American Rescue Plan," perhaps leaving some room for negotiation on what the final package will look like. But the letter makes clear that major business CEOs, including the heads of Morgan Stanley, Visa, United Airlines, BlackRock, Comcast and Google are pushing for relief on the scale of Biden's plan.
"The American Rescue Plan provides a framework for coordinated public-private efforts to overcome COVID-19 and to move forward with a new era of inclusive growth. The country’s business community is prepared to work with you to achieve these critical objectives," the letter says.
Just Tuesday, though, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, one of the few Senate Republicans who has shown willingness to buck his party, criticized the $1.9 trillion bill in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
"The $1.9 trillion bill is a clunker. It would waste hundreds of billions of dollars, do nothing meaningful to get kids back to school, and enact policies that work against job creation. The Congressional Budget Office’s recent analysis of the plan found that more than a third of the proposed funding—$700 billion—wouldn’t be spent until 2022 or later, undermining the administration’s claim that the massive price tag is justified for urgent pandemic-related needs," Romney wrote.
Whether the pressure from big business will sway any Republicans in the Senate remains to be seen, but Wednesday morning's messaging from GOP lawmakers is pretty clear: They have no intentions of budging.
-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky
WH to send out 25 million masks
The White House will send 25 million masks to more than 1,300 community health centers, food pantries and soup kitchens to deliver for vulnerable communities, it says.
The masks, which are “high-quality, washable, and consistent with the mask guidance from the CDC,” will be delivered by the Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Department of Defense starting in March through May.
“As a result of these actions, an estimated 12 to 15 million Americans will receive masks. More than 25 million masks total will be distributed,” the administration said in the release.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle
Blinken calls for reform in remarks to UN human rights council
In pre-taped remarks, Biden's new Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered his first address to the U.N. Human Rights Council since the U.S. moved to rejoin as an observer. Blinken said the U.S. will seek full-time membership for the 2022 term.
In his remarks, Blinken called for reform of the council, including members with anti-Israel bias and members that "undermine" human rights. He even called out a few countries by name, including Russia, Iran, Venezuela and China -- all members. Blinken also noted America’s imperfect human rights record, citing discrimination and violence toward Black, indigenous and Asian Americans.
"I recognize that any pledge to fight for human rights around the world must begin with a pledge to fight for human rights at home," Blinken said. "People of color in the United States deal every day with the consequences of systemic racism and economic injustice."
-ABC News' Conor Finnegan and Chad Murray
Senators press Garland on death penalty, hate crimes
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., pushed Garland on his view of the death penalty, noting that convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, whom Garland helped prosecute, was put to death in the early 2000s. Garland said he didn’t regret that but said his thoughts on the death penalty have evolved.
He says Biden has the ability to put a moratorium on the death penalty and ultimately his stance on it will follow the president's.
Multiple senators addressed racial equality and disparities in the justice system as well as the prosecution of hate crimes. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., asked Garland if he felt there were two systems of justice in the United States and Garland said he did. Garland vowed to have the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division aggressively prosecute hate crimes.
"Hate crimes tear at the fabric of our society make our citizens worried about walking on the street and exercising even their most normal rights and the role of the Civil Rights Division is to prosecute those cases, vigorously and I can assure you that it will if I'm confirmed," Garland said.
-ABC News' Luke Barr