Ahead of the August District Work Period, Regional Leadership Council Holds Meeting at White House to Discuss Equity in Implementation

July 28, 2023

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Members of the Regional Leadership Council (RLC) and its Chair, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), attended a second meeting at the White House for a conversation on the progress that Democrats have made to implement the Investing in America agenda. Joining the Members were senior White House officials, including Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian, Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs Louisa Terrell, and Senior Advisors to the President Mitch Landrieu and Stephen Benjamin. The meeting focused on how Democrats can continue to promote equity as they work to advance implementation.

From the release of district-by-district reports on how the Investing in America agenda is lowering costs for Americans to events that inform people about how they can benefit from the policies and programs that Democrats secured last Congress, Chairman Hoyer also highlighted the Council’s progress through previous meetings with Administration officials. Additionally, he laid out the RLC’s upcoming priorities and joined in discussing how the Biden-Harris Administration and the Council can best continue their close coordination going forward.

Click here for a transcript of Chair Hoyer’s remarks following the meeting.

“From multiple Investing in America tours to the development of innovative and informative resources like Invest.gov, President Biden and his Administration continue to play an active role in equitably implementing and promoting the groundbreaking laws that Democrats enacted in the 117th Congress,” Chairman Hoyer said. “Meetings like the one we had today further demonstrated the Biden-Harris Administration's energetic commitment to the implementation effort. I was pleased to sit down with our partners in the Administration to discuss all that we have done – and continue to do – to make sure these federal dollars are reaching families across America and addressing our crucial equity goals. Together, we're working in lockstep to help our people and our country get ahead.”

“President Biden and Congressional Democrats’ Investing in America agenda is delivering results in every state and territory across the country. From rebuilding our infrastructure, to lowering health care costs, to creating good-paying jobs in clean energy and manufacturing, this agenda is creating opportunity for millions of American families. President Biden will continue this critical work to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up, and we are grateful to have partners like the Regional Leadership Council to bring these investments and opportunity to the American people,” said Natalie Quillian, Deputy Chief of Staff.

“We’ve hit the ground running to implement President Biden’s once-in-a-generation Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with over $280 billion announced and 37,000 infrastructure projects now all across America,” said Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator. “Together with the Regional Leadership Council, we are ensuring no one and no community is left behind.”

“Two years in office, President Biden’s and Congressional Democrats’ Investing in America agenda is working. The economy has created more than 13 million jobs since the President took office – including nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs – we’ve unleashed a manufacturing and clean energy boom, and the administration has already announced over 37,000 infrastructure projects and awards across 4,500 cities and towns in America. The Biden-Harris Administration partnership with the Regional Leadership Council has been critical to ensuring equitable implementation of our Investing in America agenda,” said Stephen Benjamin, Senior Advisor to the President.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries created the Regional Leadership Council in January 2023 and appointed Congressman Hoyer to serve as its Chair. In addition to Congressman Hoyer, the council consists of twelve Members who each represent one of the United States' twelve regions. The council is working to ensure that Americans in every corner of the country and in every zip code can access the opportunities created by the historic policies that Democrats secured in the 117th Congress, including the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the Honoring Our PACT Act, and many others.

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