Welcome to meet the press daily. Im chuck todd. A day of relief, reflection and renewed urgency in this country. Less than 24 hours after a jury convicted Derek Chauvin of murder in the death of george floyd, the Focus In Minneapolis and nationwide has turned to issues and questions much bigger than any single verdict. Where do we go from here . We may have moved past this event, but we havent moved past this moment in terms of policing, politics, justice and equality. What will the legacy of this moment be . This morning attorney general Merrick Garland announced the Justice Department is opening an investigation into the Minneapolis Police departments practices and whether its officers routinely engaged in conduct that was unlawful or unconstitutional. The challenges we face are deeply woven into our history. They did not arise today or last year. Building trust between community and Law Enforcement will take time and effort by all of us, but we undertake this task with determination and urgency, knowing that change cannot wait. So garlands comments today reflect the sentiments expressed last night after the verdict was read. That yesterdays verdict must be seen as the beginning of a push, not the end of anything. No one should be above the law, and todays verdict sends that message, but its not enough. It cant stop here. Heres the truth about racial injustice. It is notes just a Black America Problem or a people of color problem. It is a problem for every american. Reverend al always told me we got to keep fighting. Im going to put up a fight every day because im not just fighting for george anymore, im fighting for everybody around this world. I would not call todays verdict justice, however, because justice implies true restoration. But it is accountability, which is the First Step Towards justice. So now we have to focus on transforming policing in the united states, so today i am relieved, today i exhale, but today just marks the beginning of a new phase of a long struggle to bring justice in america. So the case of the George Floyds murder is finally over. Though there are three more officers that are going to be on trial, but the larger challenge is not, despite the house passing multiple Police Reform bills efforts in the senate have stalled where no deal has garnered 60 votes to advance and this is something you cant do with reconciliation. Schumer opened the floor saying the senate will not rest until Police Reform is passed but most republican calls for reform have quieted after the party rallied around a political message in the 2020 Election Warning some democrats want to defund the police. Theres a fear that too Many Republican leaders want that issue again rather than trying to heal the wounds of this nation. Earlier this month the white house put its Police Oversight commission on hold for now. So what comes next . The chauvin verdict in some ways ended possibly the most painful chapter of a painful 2020. But the pressure now is on our National Leaders as the next chapter begins. To get us started im joined by Shaquille Brewster who has been in minneapolis since the start of Derek Chauvins trial. The White House Garrett Headache is on capitol hill. Janay nel, the naacp Legal Defense fund. Let me start on the ground in minneapolis. Im curious how you would describe it . Is it a sense of relief . Is it a sense of purpose and relief together . How would you describe it . It really depends on who youre talking to and where you are in the city. I will tell you yesterday outside of the courthouse as that verdict was being read, thats when you heard the celebrations and you heard some of the relief and excitement, the vindication as one protester put it to me this is why they were out there. Ill let you look around george floyd square. This is the area, the intersection where george floyd was murdered according to that jury. This is where he lost his life. You see its a little bit more somber right now, people are more reflective and we saw families out here, people coming out dropping flowers, putting signs down. More commemorating the life of george floyd. A little bit reflective as well thinking about the impact his loss had not just on this city but the entire country. You talk about the news today from the department of justice that theyre opening that pattern and practice investigation into the Minneapolis Police department. Well, we heard from some of the city Council Members, havent heard from the memberships Police Department yet, we expect a statement to come later today, but from the stanley cup members they have welcomed this investigation and they say they know its not just their department, but they welcome the oversight and they welcome some involvement from the federal government level. You heard that from the Council Member who represents the area that im standing in right now where george floyd lost his life. So you get that sense that people are welcoming it, that they see this as the floor. This is what they fought for and what they wanted. They are celebrating the conviction but they want much more, systemic change and they think that the pattern and practice investigation, the efforts to reform this Police Department, from Thecity Council in minneapolis are systemic changes that will address the root causes of what they have been fighting for. Shaq, look, i understand, on one hand i get the embracing of the investigation, but whats that going to do about Brooklyn Center . Right. Whats thats going to do about every other Police Department that many folks would argue, hey, if you had a pattern and practice investigation, you might not like what you find . Thats a good point, chuck. But i think if you listen to people who have embraced this so far, the city council, Vice President , Andrea Jenkins who represents this area, you heard from Congressman Ellison the son of Keith Ellison on the city council these have been outspoken critics of the Minneapolis Police department and fighting against this department, fighting to get an item on the ballot to defund and dismantle the Police Department and they have shifted money from the Police Department to more violence prevention programs. So they are looking for systemic issues. They want that to be uncovered and that spotlight and pressure on the Minneapolis Police department. They also understand and you hear people even some of the strong activists say that they appreciate and accept the role of chief aura dondo. We heard some of the vision when he was testifying on the trial. One quick thing, when he was testifying and once he gave his testimony, you actually saw stories about how people in the Community Saw the vision is that he had and they said, thats not the reality of what was on the ground. We saw the use of force policies that was litigated throughout the trial but they said thats not what were experiencing with our Police Department. So they welcome the spotlight. They welcome the sunshine. They welcome the pressure on this department because they want true systemic reform and i think thats a path to getting it. Well, thats the question now, shaq. Thanks very much at George Floyd Plaza and that gets us to where to we go from here and how hard is the white house going to push things . Shannon, i want to play a bit of a call that floyd family Attorney Ben Crump had with the president. Let me play an excerpt of it. Were going to get a lot more done. Were going to get police. Were going to do a lot. Were going to stay at it until we get it done. Hopefully this is the momentum for the george floyd and the police to get it passed to have it signed. Not just that, a lot more. Thank you, mr. President. First shot at dealing with genuine systemic racism. So shannon, i have no doubt of the motive of the president and the Vice President , but the question always is, the political will to stick to this. We know its not easy and this is going to be something that look what couldnt get passed in the wake of what happened last summer and that was a moment where we thought the senate was close. Whats the white house plan to put a little extra effort into this . Well, and i think, chuck, you raised the point that there is no doubt, the Vice President president , really support this bill, action on Police Reform but inside the white house the number one Priority Legislatively right now when it comes to working with congress is the infrastructure bill, the jobs plan, potentially getting through another phase of that. That Infrastructure Deal is going to take months of political capital, of phone calls, of behind the scenes work, of public work with the president out there selling it. That is going to be taking up a lot of oxygen going forward. Now the white house and white house officials will emphasize, though, over and over again that just because something is not on the front burner doesnt mean its not on a Side Burner Simmering and doesnt mean theres not work happening behind the scenes. But in the meantime i think the white house is signaling and were hearing this from officials, theyre going to see what they can do without congress and this Justice Department announcement today i think is one example of that. There are things that can be done through the executive branch. Frankly the Trump Administration tried to do some of those to some extent like with funding and grants to Police Departments. So there are things they can do Opt Executive Side while they kind of work on these legislative things. It comes down to timing. The president has a short amount of time and as garrett can talk to, we are about to get into 2020 midterms, have members of congress concerned about passing something politically sensitive in an election year. The clock is ticking on this. So i means just clarify here, weve had bipartisan meetings on infrastructure, semiconductors, are we going to see tim scott and karen bass at the white house on Police Reform . Yeah. I think that i think thats the excellent question. And, you know, ive been thinking today too, are they going to have Community Leaders come in and Police Leaders coming in and having those sort of meetings. Those havent happened yet. We have not gotten an indication they are going to happen, but we know from white house officials they take this issue seriously and its something very, very important to the president they say. Shannon outside the white house for us, thank you. That brings us to garrett. Shannon set him up pretty well. Garrett, you have a little bit of news on this with senator scott and i just want to preface it this way, i always say the difference between Police Reform and gun reform is this, pat toomey doesnt have other republicans that will follow him right now in this senate. Tim scott might. So i guess the question is, what does that might look like . Yeah. I think thats an astute observation. Tim scotts opinion carries a lot of weight within the republican congress. If he is able to strike a deal with karen bass and cory booker the three the point people on this negotiation, if the three are able to strike a deal its the kind of thing that will be difficult for the republican conference to turn their backs on. If democrats get on board, if the white house is on board, if tim scott is on board the train is leaving the station. Scott today was actually more optimistic than i anticipated certainly in talking about getting over some of the hums, the obstacles, that have existed to this bill, changes to qualified immunity, the ability to sue individual officers and Police Departments when incidents occur. Heres a little bit of what he told reporters earlier and ill explain why it is significant on the other side. There is a way to put more of the onus or the burden on the department or on the employer than on the employee, inning that could be a logical step forward and one that, as ive spoken with karen bass over the last several weeks, its something that the democrats are quite receptive to. I think we are on the verge of wrapping this up in the next week or two depending on how quickly they respond to our suggestions. Now a week or two, would be pretty fast moving here. Now the senate is expected to go yeah. Go out the first week of may and back later in the month. So again, were talking a quick timeline in terms of an agreement on an issue that has been this controversial. Scott thinks theres only about four or five issues still sort of outstanding to be solved here. I would just caution that any time you have a member of one party speak for the progress for the other party you have to be careful. Democratic aides ive spoken to were even describing whats going on as conversations, not necessarily formal negotiations. So a i would preach a little bit of caution here on this, but again, if a deal is reached here with scott and the other members thats something that could move pretty expeditiously because there is widespread buyin among democratic leadership to get something to President Bidens desk while they still can to shannons point. Garrett, this sets up our next conversation quite well because im curious right now, janay, nelson to get your immediate what the naacp defense fund, i think i have an idea of what senator scott was trying to describe here, i assume this has to do with the issue of qualified immunity and who is ultimately the most accountable here. Is that how you interpreted what he was trying to say of what a compromise might look like . I know youre very involved in all of the happenings thats going on on the hill . How can you interpret what he said for us, if you will . I interpret it as an opening. It seems that he is trying to shield individual Police Officers and rather focus the attention on Police Departments and, of course, we have always advocated for a focus on the systemic culture of policing and that departments need to be examined. In fact, the entire Policing System needs to be examined for the policies and practices and the engrained discrimination and racism that motivates much of the violence that we see today, that has brought us to this moment. It is perfectly appropriate to suggest that we focus on the departments, but we also need accountability for individual officers. If Derek Chauvin had not been convicted yesterday that would have sent a message that black life, black protection, black safety in this country, is one of one of the most undervalued things in public life. And fortunately, the system of justice delivered yesterday, it delivered a conviction and it delivered satisfaction that our system can actually react to black death and black violence appropriately, but it isnt a cause to celebrate because we know that this is not just an episodic issue. This is a systemic issue. I commend the department of justice for coming out immediately with a pattern and practice investigation because it sends a signal that we are going to look at the whole of it, that we are going to examine an institution, we are going to bring the federal resources that we have at our disposal to bear on coming what is happening in individual Police Departments and in our system of policing at large. By exposing what is occurring in a Police Department, we can start to see parallels in other Police Departments and other Policing Systems. We can see deficiencies in training, deficiencies across the board that can lead to a reimagining of how we think of Public Safety and what appropriate role, if any, police should occupy in various instances. I was pleased to see the department of justice come out with the announcement. Youre kind of you sort of prebutted a question i was going to ask you, you seem to be youre all embracing of the announcement on minneapolis, but as i was saying to shaq, what does that do about Brooklyn Center . What does that do about columbus . About chicago . And i say this not, you know, in that, is it a whackamole investigation . Department by department . How do we create the sort of wait a minute, we have a national problem, clearly we have a recruiting problem. Can it be addressed one department at a time . Well, listen, there are a number of things at our disposal and given a problem this large and complex and this dangerous and divisive, we need to deploy all of them. The department of justice using the pattern and practice investigation for departments that we know are problematic, is an absolute right response and a reversal of what we know Jeff Sessions put in place in actually suspending those types of important investigations. That is critically important. But that is not at all where we end. We do need the passage of the George Floyd Justice in policing act. We know following the horrific and brutal beating of rodney king, we were able to pass the Violent Crime control and Law Enforcement act of 1994. That gave rise to the department of justices ability to even bring this pattern and practice investigation. The George Floyd Justice in policing act will take us even further in being able to bring accountability when there is Police Violence to track officers when they are convicted of crimes or discipline so that they cannot pop up in another injuredion and engage in the same harm. There are many other reforms including a National Database that is created under the George Floyd Justice in policing act that is sorely needed. So let me circle back to where we started. You talked to folks opt hill and they will tell you this issue of qualified immunity is basically the chief sticking point. Is there a in what senator scott outlined, is that the contours of a compromise or step one and, you know, as you pointed out, look, after rodney king, there was incremental improvement in the tools that Justice Department got. You know, is there room here to make incremental progress if it ends up not being as good as it can be . You know, chuck, im [ inaudible ] to comment on what was a passing and fleeting mention of a potential way to come to some consensus around the George Floyd Justice and policing act. The devil is in the details as we know. Qualified immunity has been a barrier to accountability and eroded public trust in policing and Police Departments across the country. It is a barrier to justice and to any reform on that front really would need to be examined quite closely to make sure it doesnt compromise the ultimate principles that will get us beyond this very difficult moment. I also want to note that there are other tools that need to be deployed and it is critically important that we have a department of justice that is operating at full capacity. We know today as we speak, theyre voting on be nita gupta the assistant attorney general of the department of justice and she is someone who brings a background of prosecuting rogue Police Departments and coming these issues and we hope that we will now have a full complement of people to enforce the laws and tools that we have and hopefully they will have one more in the passage of the George Floyd Justice and policing act. If youre Keeping Score at home its been more than 90 days and not a full complement of folks at the Justice Department yet. Thats how slow the senate process gets. Jenee nelson, i look forward to having you back as negotiations ramp up more on what we hopefully will see something on capitol hill. Nothing cant be an answer here anyway. As always, thank you. Coming up, as the Justice Department launches an investigation into Policing Practices in the city of minneapolis, ill speak to miami police chief about the future of policing in this country and what all Police Departments should be doing to affect change. Were expecting President Biden to speak at the white house on the virus and the vaccination progress. Well bring you that live when it happens. That live when it happens darrells family uses gain flings now so their laundry smells more amazing than ever. Isnt that the dogs towel . Hey, me towel su towel. More gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling. 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We dont want more Law Enforcement members havings to Face Criminal Charges and their families lives ruined or communities torn apart. Im joined by miami police chief art acevedo, and if youre saying miami, because art acevedo is the fairly new chief there in the city of miami after moving from the confines of houston, texas. Let me just your first reaction yesterday when you heard the news that Derek Chauvin was found guilty . I think we let out a collective sigh of relief, not just as Police Profession or Police Officers, but as an extended community that justice was served, served quickly when you think about the fact that cases dont move this quickly in this country, less than a year we had the investigation completed, charges filed and complete trial completed. Were relieved and we think its a step in the right direction. So look, i am a miami native. I grew up there and in the 70s and 80s the issue of police and Community Divisiveness was a big deal in miami and the metro area there. A lot of effort has been made over the years to diversify these forces. What have you as you have joined the Miami Community what have you learned about that history of what worked and what hasnt . Well, i can tell you, we just got out of as a department of a consent decree. I think what helps is leadership. The problem of the american policing isnt Police Officers. Most of the Police Officers today are truly the best trained, best equipped, best educated, most professional Police Officers. We still have Police Chiefs when they see mediocrity or misconduct or mall feasance theyre not willing to cut their losses. We have to have accountability, not just in the big cities, but in all 18,000 Police Departments. Del ray, one of the young activists in the country said mort they look at these issues, that seems to happen a lot more frequently and without the spotlight on them in smaller communities so we have a lot of work to do but it has to be a National Approach and its time and were hopeful that the president will bring a commission, a national commission, once and for all, to look at policing to the next 200 years of this nations history. So forget the commission a minute, but lets take youre now a chief of a police force, i believe theres i want to say is there a number of different 31 municipalities in Miami Dade County, theres a lot of Smaller Police forces, and that its those suburban Police Forces that can sometimes gives the are the bad apples. How would you deal with that situation . Do we have different training, depending on the size of police force and should it be the case . I think its not just a matter of training, but the amount of accountability because if you train officers and invest in good policies and procedures and training and dont hold them accountable for failing to follows the training might as well not have the training and policies in the first place. It starts with the national or minimum statewide standards across the nation, training across the nations, and i think it moves into a National Database so we cant have Police Officers fired from one Small Department or sometimes bigger departments, some people i fired in houston, you know, i ran off over 250 officers in my four and a half years there, a lot of those people ended up going to other departments. So we have to look at not just the state of policing in terms of each department but what happens when you hold them accountable and measures to keep them offs the force once we get them off the force. You still willing to make a case in favor of qualified immunity for all Police Officers . Im willing to make a case and i think my colleagues across the country are willing to make a case that a qualified immunity has to be tweaked, adjusted, evolved. What does that look like . You know, were going to release a paper by the end of this week that will have that Policy Statement were going to share with congress, karen bass, the speaker, leadership on both sides of the aisle and looks like an effort to make it easier to get after cops that are really, really out of step with what theyre supposed to be doing while at the same time appreciating the fact that officers are dealing with dynamic, life and death, you know, fast decisions they have to make and protecting officers that are not making mistakes that are hard and following the training. So theres a happy medium there and i think its incumbent come together and its not an All Or Nothing proposition. We can get there if we put our hats on. Let me ask you about one sort of radical proposal where i have seen. Where are you on the routine traffic stop and would you like to see it eliminated completely . Could you do what a routine traffic stop does with cameras at this point and to basically limit the number of potential interactions . First of all lets be honest, okay, over 40,000 americans are killed every year in traffic crashes. Over 40,000 americans are killed. That doesnt include the life altering injuries or paralysis of people that lose limb. Thats just death. So the notion to get rid of Traffic Stops is not going to happen. Its just it would be reckless. However, we could look at some of these more are archaic mundane violations, maybe those become secondary violations where you have to stop people for behaviors that are dangerous, like speeding and Reckless Driving and Drunk Driving and blowing red lights, as opposed to, you know, you had a license plate light out, so theres a way to reduce it without endangering the lives and limbs of the American People. Art acevedo, the Police Chief D the new police chief of the city of miami appreciate you coming on and youre very open and willing to take any and all questions. Its good to have you on. Thanks. Come visit. Enjoy my hometown. I will. There why you go. All right. Amid the reckoning over Police Accountability and systemic racism, movements before Derek Chauvin was found guilty for the murder, a Police Officer shot and killed a girl in columbus. Police were responded about an attempting stabbing and 16yearold Makhia Bryant threatened two other girls with a knife. Protesters quickly gathered near the scene calling it a tragic day for the city. Columbus mayor called for calm in an effort to show transparency, the Police Department quickly released the Body Cam Footage of the incident. Were going to show you some of it. I want to warn you it is disturbing and frozen the video before the shots are fired and makhia falls to the ground. Whats going on . Whats going on . Hey, hey, hey, get down, get down, get down, get down. Officials say the officer whose name has not been released has been tape off the street while the shooting is being investigated. Jen psaki called bryants death tragic saying that the president has been briefed on that situation. We expect to hear more from the mayor of columbus and the governor of ohio in the next hour. Both are scheduled to hold Press Conferences at 2 00. Coming up im going to speak to a Police Reform activist and leading voice in the black lives movement. Lives movement phone rings hello . 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Together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. Go to autismspeaks. Org welcome back. We just talked to a member of Law Enforcement about what comes next in the push for Police Reform and lets talk to someone who has been pushing forpolicing reform as an activist. Joining me Deray Mckesson a leading voice in the black lives Matter Movement and founder of Campaign Zero dedicated to ending Police Violence. Deray, let me start with, im hoping you heard the end of chief acevedos answer about qualified immunity and about sort of and where the police sort of Police Leaders are and look, im sure you didnt love the answer but at the same time, it is the conversation is moving in the activist direction. Where do you feel the movement is right now . Yeah. Let me zoom in, i know chief, chief and i have been on task forces and stuff together and disagree about some fundamental pieces but agree about things like accountability and note you look at 2021 the police have killed 320 people this year and 2020 the Police Killed more people than every year than 2018. I think what a lot of people confuse is they forget this is about civil cases. So we end qualified immunity for Police Officers, no individual officers will be held more accountability. This is about your ability to sue the Police Department. Colorado is the only state that we know of right now that has changed qualified immunity that might hold an individual officer in a small way. I worry people sort of state the importance of qualified immunity. Should it go away . Absolutely. Is it going to be the big panacea around accountability . Its not. Whats give me your model Police Department. Not where we have today but what would a model Police Department look like if the reforms that went through you would like to see go through went through . You know, chuck, i think that we can live in a world beyond the police. I dont think we need people with guns to respond to the vast majority of things that happen in a community but what happened in maryland in terms of what is immediate, what happened in maryland, shout out to the speaker of the house, adrien jones and bill fegson to lead this package through despite governor hogan, the most aggressive ban on no knock raids in history. Its amazing what they pushed through. Also the best and most Citizen Led Accountability we have in the country that binds the police chief and makes it so citizens can double check decisions. That doesnt exist anywhere else in the united states. New jersey has the best use of force policies in the united states. Over 350 cities since last june have restricted the power of the police to use force. About 15 states have done that. That stuff is big. Think about one of the biggest levers is police unions. Police unions have an incredible amount of power. There are places where the police, they cant be interviewed within 48 hours and in portland and seattle the contract says the officer has to be disciplined in the least embarrassing manner. I dont know what that means. There are a lot of places where records get destroyed after two, three, four years. The police have rigged there. There are 20 states that have statelevel officer bill of rights that protect the police and made the maryland bill so incredible, maryland was the first state to have an officer bill of rights and first state to repeal it. Its interesting you bring up police unions. The question is, how much of this reform do you believe has to be on the state and local level or are you playing acha more on the state and local level and nothing happens unless you create a higher floor on the federal level. The Justice Department is investigating minneapolis. My first question, what about Brooklyn Center next door . You know, what where do you view as the as where its needed most . You have to work on the state level because of the specific laws or a federal Reform Package can dos the trick . Do you know the highest number of investigationions the doj has done in a year. Theres 18,000. Whats your guess . Im going to guess less than five. Three. Yes, youre right. We like the doj intervention. It has changed a lot of places, but when you think about three out of 18,000, youre like thats not a right. Not a big win. Normally goes where the media goes. Doesnt necessarily go where the problems must be. You think phoenix, phoenix one in three homicides a couple years ago was committed by a Police Officer. Albuquerque, places like that wheres the doj should actually be intervene. Phoenix and albuquerque. But our cameras arent there. Right . Your cameras arent there and the Police Actually kill more people in suburban communities than all other communities combined. Look at when we graph it suburbs are here, cities are here. Cities are actually like the only place that its getting better. So Brooklyn Center is much more representative of the problem. Ferguson the suburbs. Kenosha is the suburbs, right. The federal government can do some interesting things but the real juice is at the local and state level and what biden could do tomorrow and the george floyd act doesnt rein in the federal government, he tomorrow could rein in border patrol, 20,000 officers, i. C. E. , atf, dea, he has the power without a task force he could do that right now. But you bring up the point i was trying to bring up with chief acevedo, thats because i knows the area well, grew up there, Miami Dade County has dozens of Police Forces. Metro and the city of miami have a lot of eyes on it. I dont know how many eyes are on Miami Gardens or south miami and those are two Police Departments im singling out. I know im not saying theres a specific reason but thats my point. The suburban Police Department issue are there too many of them . Should they all be collapsed . Definitely too many. But also, like people just arent paying attention. People talk about training and body cameras. And the research is clear, training might change Police Officer attitudes, doesnt change their behaviors. Body cameras might change Police Officer attitudes, doesnt change their behaviors. Imagine if you had a job where you could do whatever you wanted and the worst thing you did the consequence would be, going to a training. You can do whatever you wanted. Even with convictions the highest number of convictions, Police Kill On Average 1100 people a year, the highest number of convictions is 11 in a given year ever. I mean that. Deray mckesson, i dont mean to cut you off but i have to cut you off. The president is about to speak. Appreciate having you on discussing this from your Point Of View as well. As i said, heres President Biden on vaccinations. Incredible staff i have. So i set a second goal to deliver 200 million shots in my first 100 days in office. The goal unmatched in the world or in prior mass Vaccination Efforts in american history. Tomorrows vaccine and Vaccination Numbers come out, it will show that today, we did it, today we hit 200 million shots on the 92nd day in office. 200 million shots in 100 days, under 100 days actually. Its an incredible achievement for the nation and heres the context. You know, at the pace were moving when i took office it would have taken us more than 220 days, almost seven and a half months to reach 200 million shots. Instead of marking this milestone in april, we would not have seen it until Early September at the earliest. Some experts say that the rapid Vaccination Effort is already saved tens of thousands of american lives. Well never know exactly, but we know it saved lives. That would have otherwise been lost. Im proud of the work my administration has done to get americans vaccinated, but more than that, im proud of the American People, the volunteers who showed up to staff Vaccination Sites in their neighborhoods, drove Senior Citizens to get their shots, fema, the military, national guard, state an local health departments, providers, running sites safely and efficiently. Retired Health Care Workers coming back to give lifesave shots to people in their communities. This is an american achievement. A powerful demonstration of unity and resolve, what unity will do for us, and a reminder of what we can accomplish when we pull together as one people to a common goal. Now that weve reached this milestone were entering a new phase of our Vaccination Effort. As of monday at my direction, with the support of 50 governors, democrats and republicans alike, everyone over the age of 16 will be eligible to get vaccinated. The first three months of our Vaccination Program focused on targeting vaccines to specific highrisk groups. Now our objective is to reach everyone, everyone over the age of 16 in america. Wherever you live, whatever your circumstances, if you are 16 or older you are now eligible for a free Covid Vaccine shot. And we have the vaccine to deliver. We head into this next phase, its important for us to look at where we stand. After three months of Targeting Vaccinations largely to Health Care Workers, Frontline Workers and people with highrisk conditions, nursing homes, nursing home residents and seniors, progress weve made has been stunning. Let me point out a few achievements. First, as of this past sunday, more than 50 of adult americans have had at least one vaccine shot. We still have a long way to go, but thats an important marker of progress. When it comes to our Target Groups, the largest groups we focused on in these past 92 days have been seniors. Americans aged 65 and older that account for 80 of all the covid deaths before we started vaccinating. When i took office, 8 of the people over 65 had received their first shot. Im pleased to announce that by tomorrow, that total will exceed 80 of the people over the age of 65. 80 of american seniors of all races, religions, political views will have at least one shot. It would be another month or so before we see the full benefits of this effort. As many seniors still need the second shot, plus the two weeks to gain that protection after the second shot. But already, weve seen a dramatic decline in deaths among people over the age of 65. 80 reduction in deaths in people over the age of 65. Still, far too many lives lost, but a lot of lives saved. In the weeks ahead, as more seniors reached full vaccination, that number of lives lost will continue to decrease. We made great progress with another Charter Group as well. Educators, school staff, bus drivers and Child Care Workers. Back in february when many of our schools were fully or partially closed, the center for Disease Control and prevention, the cdc, issued guidelines to help reopen our schools safely. Then in march, Congress Approved the American Rescue plan to fund the safe reopening of our schools. One thing was clear. Many educators were understandably anxious about going back to a classroom without being vaccinated. And many parents were understandably nervous about sending their kids back as well. So on march 2nd, i launched a Program Directing all states to make educators, school staff, school bus drivers, Child Care Workers eligible for vaccination in every state so that schools and Child Care Centers could open with a peace of mind. Within a month, 80 had received at least one shot and schools and Child Care Centers all over the country are reopening. Now, to be clear, we still have some work to do with our Target Groups. Weve made remarkable progress. As we continue, time is now to open up a new phase of this historic Vaccination Effort. To put it simply, if youve been waiting for your turn, wait no longer. Now is the time for everyone over 16 years of age to get vaccinated. Unlike the Target Groups where we made such great progress, the broad swath of American Adults still remain largely unvaccinated. In a number of states, they werent eligible for the vaccination until this week. Too many younger americans may still may think they dont need to get vaccinated. So let me explain why we need every american over 16 years of age to get vaccinated and share what were doing to encourage it. The first reason, quite simply, is to keep you from getting very sick and dying. Hundreds of americans are still dying from covid every day. The data could not be clearer at this point. If you are fully vaccinated, two weeks beyond your last shot, you are nearly 100 protected against death from covid. No matter what your age. No matter what your health history. Until you are fully vaccinated, you are still vulnerable. The vaccine can save your life. The second reason to get vaccinated is to protect your community, your family, your friends and your neighbors. Vaccines can save your own life but they can also save your grandmothers life, your coworkers life, the Grocery Store clerk, the delivery person, helping you and your neighbors get through the crisis. Now, thats why you should get vaccinated. Let me talk about how were making it easier for you to be able to get vaccinated. First, theres some steps i announced previously that are hitting the ground this week. 90 of the American People now live within five miles of a place they can get a shot. Under our federal Vaccination Program, shots will be available at nearly 40,000 pharmacies coast to coast. And if you can go in to buy your shampoo or toothpaste, you can stop and get vaccinated. The vaccine is free. Its convenient. And its increasingly available. But i know that isnt enough. As you move into the Vaccination Campaign focused on working age adults, one concern ive heard from so Many Americans is that they cant afford to take the time off to get vaccinated or lose a days work because they have been feeling slightly under the weather after the shot. So today im announcing a program to address that issue nationwide. Im calling on every employer, large and small, in every state to give employers the time off they need with pay to get vaccinated. Any time they need with pay to recover if theyre feeling under the weather after the shot. No Working American should lose a single dollar from their paycheck because they chose to fulfill their patriotic duty of getting vaccinated. Were already seeing employers, large and small, stepping up to meet this historic moment. The Grocery Store kroger is offering employees 100 to get vaccinated. It helped push the vaccination rates from 50 to 75 among their associates. Patty young owns a hair salon in springfield, ohio. Shes also dedicated to getting her employees vaccinated, that when they leave the salon the saloon, the salon. Theyre maybe going to the saloon, i dont know, but when they leave the salon, the receptionist helps sign you or your family up to get a Covid Vaccine and where to get it. Theyve scheduled more than 200 shots so far. Businesses and employers like patty should be supported for doing the right thing. So to make sure this policy comes at no cost to small or mediumsized businesses with fewer than 500 employees, the irs is posting instructions for how employers can get reimbursed for the cost of providing paid leave for their employees to get vaccinated and recover from the side effects if they have any. That reimbursement, which comes through a tax payment, is thanks to the program i launched in the American Rescue plan. So, again, every employee should get paid leave to get a shot, and businesses should know that they can provide it without a hit to their bottom line. Theres no excuse for not getting it done. In the weeks ahead, ill have more to say about other new developments in our vaccine program. Well also continue moving aggressively to build our progress build on our progress and race to the finish line here. But let me close with this. Back on march 11th, i outlined a vision of what america could look like by the fourth of july. An america that was much closer to a normal life that we left behind more than a year ago. We remain on track for that goal. In the weeks since then, more than 120 million shots have been given since i announced the july fourth proposal. More of our kids are back in school, and after a long and painful year, more grandparents are able to hug their grandchildren again. Its great progress. But if we let up now and stop being vigilant, this virus will erase the progress weve already achieved, the sacrifices weve made, the lives that have been put on hold, The Loved Ones who have been taken from us, the time were never going to get back. To celebrate our independence from this Virus On July 4th with family and friends in small groups, we still have more to do in the months of may and june. We all need to mask up until the number of cases goes down, so everyone has a chance to get their shot. To americans 16 years and older, its your turn now. Now. So go get your vaccine before the end of may. We can do this. And well do this as long as we dont let up. But thank you all very much. As i said a long time ago, were going to beat this as long as we do it together, and i want to, again, thank my covid team, i want to thank the Vice President , i want to thank jeff zeiss behind me and the entire covid team for putting this together. May god bless you all. Thank you. Thank you. There is President Biden not only marking hitting the 200 millionshot mark in the first 100 days hes about to take a question here. Reporter what about helping abroad . Were in the process of doing that. Weve done a little bit of that already. Were looking at what is going to be done with some of the vaccines that we are not using. Were going to make sure they are safe to be sent. And we hope to be able to be of some help and value to countries around the world. Ive talked to our neighbors. As a matter of fact, a fellow who is working really hard to take care of his country and deal with this i was on the phone with for about half an hour today, and the Prime Minister of canada, we helped a little bit there. Were going to try to help some more. But theres other countries as well that im confident we can help, including in central america. But its in process. We dont have enough to be confident to send it abroad now, but i expect were going to be able to do that. Thank you. President biden there, im katy tur. Remember, he announced that he was going to get 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office. There he is million shots, his 92nd day in office. Also encouraging employers to pay employees to get a vaccine. The shots are eligible, theyre free, sign up to get one. We have a lot more on where we stand with covid and the vaccination process, and the hurdles still to come a little bit later in this hour, but bear with us because