Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, November 15, 2021

The White House

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

1:51 P.M. EST

MS. PSAKI: Hi, everyone. Okay. I just have one item for all of you at the top.

Obviously, an exciting day here at the White House, but I also wanted to note that the President — which we announced, of course — but signed an executive order this morning on the implementation of the infrastructure bill, which laid out six main priorities to guide implementation, including:

  • Investing public dollars effectively — efficiently, effectively — of course, avoiding waste and focusing on measurable outcomes for the American people.
  • Buying American and increasing the competitiveness of the U.S. economy, including through implementing the act's Made in America requirements, and bolstering domestic manufacturing and manufacturing supply chains.
  • Creating good-paying job opportunities for millions of Americans by focusing on high labor standards for these jobs, including prevailing wages and the free and fair chance to join a union.
  • Investing public dollars equitably, including through the Justice40 Initiative, which is a government-wide effort toward a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy flow to disadvantaged communities.
  • Building resilient infrastructure that can withstand the impacts of climate change, that helps combat the climate crisis.
  • And finally, coordinating with state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments in implementing these critical investments.

We also announced yesterday that former Lieutenant Governor and former Mayor Mitch Landrieu will be leading this effort. And the executive order also started a task force that will include — that will be co-chaired by National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and, of course, our new implementation coordinator, Mitch Landrieu, and will include a number of members of our Cabinet.

With that, Colleen, welcome. I don't think I've engaged with you in the briefing yet.

Q No.

MS. PSAKI: So, welcome to the briefing room.

Q Thank you. It's nice to be here. So, the bill is being signed, and now we're going to spend the money. So I wanted to ask a little bit about if the President has been in touch with governors about how the funds are going to be spent. And I wanted to know if you could talk a little bit more about the potential oversight mechanisms in place for how the public is going to be able to know how the money is being spent.

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