Subject: White House Press Briefing 05-13-16
From: "Debose, Levi" <[email-masked]>
To: Comm_D <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 13 May 2016 11:47:18 -0700

A lot of transgender letter, but no flags

WHITE HOUSE PRESS BREFING

Transgender Schools
Respond to TX Lt. Gov. Patrick who called the letter blackmail?

*         This is why you don't elect a right wing radio host as a Lt. Gov.

*         Everyone wants a civil environment in schools

*         There are no additional requirements to the law

*         They are not forced to use restrooms. Kids can do what they want

*         This is just advice

*         Teachers and administrators just need to have an inclusive and civil environment

This is a civil rights issue. Not a recommendation. Look at AG Lynch's comments, right?

*         AG Lynch was talking about something else, NC in particular

*         This is just advice for people who are seeking practical solutions to a problem

*         Want our schools to be inclusive

*         You can make small changes.... Put up curtains.

If schools don't follow will they lose funding?

*         Most schools will take the advice we believe

*         If schools have a problem there is a way to address that problem in the letter

*         Most schools will do it

*         There is no additional requirement

How concerned is the WH about legal challenges?

*         This is practical.... Does the Texas AG think that there should be a police officer outside every bathroom and check birth certificates for kids who walk in?

*         These are political arguments not practical solutions

*         Case-law is still being built

*         The reasoning is logical and the law is clear

Is this a WH action or is this Department of Education?

*         Department of Education, but WH is the coordinator of the policy decisions

*         WH knew about this letter since origin

Why Title IX?

*         Gender Identity is what is causing discrimination

*         That is not allowed by Title IX

*         No student is forced to used shared bathroom or vice-versa

Why is this not a local decision?

*         This is a local decision, remember this is a recommendation

*         If schools have problems they can address them

*         Federal Government should advocate for civil rights

Why did WH feel like they should put out the letter last night?

*         Not a reaction form HB2

*         We need to separate enforcement actions vs. political policy decisions

How much of this is a political consideration?

*         This is trying to help families and kids

*         School administrators are trying to have inclusive environments
No loss of federal funds to NC, but now this letter. Is that a mixed message?

*         No it is not, because it is two different topics (Enforcement action vs. policy recommendation)

*         HB2 was reviewed, passed, and signed in one day

*         Business community was not pleased with HB2

*         Administration doesn't believe that people should be discriminated against

*         Two separate actions from two separate agencies

Is this the extent of this policy guidance or is this just the beginning, like from businesses or companies?

*         Maybe but not what I am aware of

Is this a civil rights issue?

*         We are trying to create safe and inclusive environments

*         This is something that school administrators have been dealing with for a long time

How long did the WH get concerns about this?

*         For a while

*         Administrators were asking for advice. Not asking for a political stunt

*         School administrators are not forced to do anything, this is a recommendation

Do you expect lawsuits?

*         I expect schools to abide by the guidance

Did the POTUS play a major role?

*         DoE must put forward logical suggestions

*         Suggestion is that POTUS was a by-stander or did he play a major role?

*         There is a process that occurred

*         POTUS was aware and informed about going on

*         POTUS believes that the DoJ should protect privacy

This is not a funding threat. It's just a recommendation.

Health Care
There is a new rule in the ACA. What is different?

*         New rule that prohibits discrimination for everything (race, gender, sex, language) when seeking health care

*         People should be treated the same

What was the harm for the transgender community?

*         Much broader than just transgender

*         No one should be discriminated against

Zika
Zika budget is less than what you wanted. Will you take it?

*         If there is still time Chairman Rodgers should talk to medical professionals

*         We presented this in the briefing last week

*         Inconsistent with public requests and the request of governors

Will POTUS sign Zika funding and Opiod funding?

*         We like the bipartisan effort from Sen Rubio and Sen. Nelson, because it is not a partisan issue. This is a safety issue.

*         Strong bipartisan support, because it is rooted in the facts

*         We will wait until congress passes the bill

*         We hope this doesn't take long. We worked at a rapid pace, but nothing has happened on the Hill

Immigration Raids
Are the reports true?

*         The operations are continuations of operations from earlier

*         The only people who are targets are criminals not going on trial or due process

*         The operations are not conducted in sensitive areas

*         Deportations numbers will rise, because we will enforce the law

*         If we had immigration reform

Will there be refugee status for Central Americans who crossed the border? Also, is this due to the Central Americans who crossed last year?

*         No, because operation is form 2014

*         Central Americans shouldn't take dangerous journey and this should hope to discourage people from making this decision

*         This decision is made in order to enforce law.

*         This will be done in a humane manner, and people who have exhausted all legal problems

*         There has been a discussion about the refugee status

Crime
Are the spikes in violence a reason for concern?

*         A lot of ambiguity about the trends and crime is at or near historic lows

*         There has been spikes of violent crime in Dallas, but not in Houston

*         POTUS is sending additional assistance to communities that need it

Ferguson effect from Comey is wrong or unsubstantiated?

*         We make policy decisions off of data not personal narratives

*         We respect most law enforcement officials, but there are bad officers out there

*         Depends on what the evidence shows

*         Plenty of evidence to show that some communities are seeing a spike in violent crime, but no evidence to show that it is due to a camera phone

Week Ahead
Sun - Rutgers Commencement
Mon - Medal of Valor
Tue - Meetings in DC
Wed - DNC Roundtable
Thurs - National Medals of tech science and innovators
Friday - Meetings in DC
Sat - Going to Vietnam