So, I guess what I'm getting at is: Next year, 2022, the expectation is that middle-class families will be paying, granted, a little bit more, but still a little bit more if this passes. And then, also, you're still dealing with issues like gas prices being high. You guys have talked about the actions you're going to take or are looking at, but these are long-term solutions, mostly, that you're talking about. So what will be done in the immediate future to address the next year?
MS. PSAKI: Actually, many of them are short term. But what is true and is not often out there is that a lot of these pandemic relief programs are ending - right? - are ending.
So if you look at the spending - (gestures upward trajectory) - I don't really have a graph right now; I'm kind of making a fake one - but if you look at the spending from pandemic relief, that is going to go down because a lot of those programs are ending.
So when people are out there - this isn't your question, but just made me think of it - when people are out there criticizing the influx of money into the economy, that's actually misleading and inaccurate.
What we're really talking about here is we're ending those programs. The President supports that. There are programs, to your point, like the Child Tax Credit, that if we don't extend the Child Tax Credit, 40 million Americans will no longer get the benefit of the Child Tax Credit. That's an immediate benefit that would be happening next year.
I mentioned, before, investing in housing and building lower inc- - or available housing that allows for options for lower-income and middle-income families. That is something that will have an impact. Cutting childcare costs in half - that's something that will happen next year.
That - those are all ways that we're working - we're trying to and focused on lowering costs for Americans. That would be a part of this bill.
Q And then, I want to ask you about real - real quick about Ukraine. I know you discussed earlier the Russian troops amassing on the Ukrainian border. Field hospitals, as we all know, started being set up in April, indicating that there might be some action there. Blinken's comments about concern about Russia rehashing the 2014 invasion and then Jake Sullivan underscoring the commitment to Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. But has - it doesn't seem there's been any indication of more support on the way from the U.S. right now.
MS. PSAKI: To the Ukrainians?
Q To the Ukrainians. And then - so why is that?
And then, also, why did we send the CIA Director to Russia instead of the Secretary of Defense or our ambassador or Blinken to handle this kind of a diplomacy issue? Like, who is he speaking for in that trip?
MS. PSAKI: He's speaking for the U.S. government. I'd also note that the CIA Director is also the former ambassador to Russia and the former Deputy Secretary of State. So he does come to it with quite a bit of experience. But the President looks at his national security team as a group of smart, engaged individuals who are representing his national interests overseas, and that's what he's doing.
I will note, on the Ukraine question, part of the reason I mentioned the engagement with European allies and partners is because, as you know, we operate in lockstep with our allies and partners. That's how we've approached things. We are - we have a shared concern about reports of military buildup on the border. I don't have anything to preview at this point in time, but that is something that we are very actively engaged with not just the Russians on and the Ukrainians, but also our European partners as well.
I just want to skip around because I know we're not getting to enough people in the back, so I hear. Okay, let's go all the way. Time.
Q Thank you. Thank you very much, Jen. I had a question about the meeting between Xi Jinping and President Biden on Monday. The U.S. Holocaust Museum this week came out with a report that China's actions towards the minority population of Uyghurs in the country may amount to genocide. Its use of forced slave labor and forced sterilizations and other actions, is that something that the President is going to bring up with Xi Jinping? And is that something the President will hold up as something that Xi Jinping needs to take action on, to reverse, before the U.S gets closer in its relationship with China?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I would say that one of the purposes of this leader-to-leader engagement is to also discuss areas where you have strong concern and disagreement. And, you know, it's not just the President's words, though; we've also acted. We are engaged, first of all, with members of Congress on technical advis- - providing technical assistance on legislation that's currently working its way through Congress.
But in addition to that, we've also taken concrete measures on our own, including visa restrictions, Global Magnitsky and financial sanctions, export controls, import restrictions, the release of a business advisory, and rallying the G7 to commit to take action to ensure all global supply chains are free from the use of forced labor.
So this is an area where we have been - the President has been vocal, he has taken action.
Again, in terms of topics that will be discussed, there will be areas where we work together, and he will not hold back, as he never has, on areas where we have concern. But I will leave it to the preview call on Sunday to give you more detail on that.
Q Does the President believe that his personal relationship with Xi Jinping - going back to having a meal together in a noodle shop in Beijing in 2011 and their - the time that they spent together - will that have an impact on his ability to engage with Xi Jinping and get China to take actions that it's been reluctant to take so far?
MS. PSAKI: I would say that he - you've heard him talk about this before, Brian, and he feels that the history of their relationship - having spent time with him - allows him to be quite candid as he has been in the past and he will continue to be as we look ahead to next week.
Q Just a follow-up on China.
MS. PSAKI: Let's go all the way in the back. There you go.
Q On the Monday virtual meet, will concerns on the border tensions with India also be raised between the two leaders?
MS. PSAKI: Again, I know there's a lot of interest in this meeting. I certainly understand it. We're going to be previewing it later this weekend. There'll be a range of topics discussed - you know, some where we have concern; some where we have areas where we can work together; some certainly security related; economic. There'll be a range of topics, but I'll leave it to the Sunday preview call.
Go ahead.
Q Thanks, Jen. I wanted to ask about the numbers that came out this morning about the record number of people quitting their jobs in September. Is there a concern that this number might go even higher when the vaccine mandate goes into place? And what is the administration doing to help companies who are concerned about retaining workers once the mandate kicks in?
MS. PSAKI: You're talking about because of the vaccine mandate -
Q Right.
MS. PSAKI: - being implemented? And is it specific companies? I just haven't seen this data, so give me a little more information.
Q So there are some companies that are concerned, once the vaccine mandate goes into place, that they may have trouble retaining workers, especially hourly workers who may not want to get the vaccine. Are you afraid that these numbers of people quitting their jobs will go up? And what is the administration doing to help companies who are worried about this?
MS. PSAKI: Well, first I'll say that hasn't actually been what we've seen at the vast majority of companies who have implemented vaccine mandates. And as you know, the deadline hasn't come up for where it would be required. It's coming up in the coming months.
But many companies - the airlines, of course; hospital systems - have implemented vaccine requirements. The vast majority of people have participated in them and abided by those requirements, and now they have a healthier, safer, more predictable workforce.
So, we haven't actually seen that to date, so I don't know that we would have that to predict in the future.
Q But also, companies that are worried about losing their workers are probably waiting to implement a vaccine mandate. Right? So as (inaudible) -
MS. PSAKI: I would see if companies convey that, we can speak to that. But, obviously, we're working to implement the OSHA requirements - the regulations that were put out just last week.
And our view is that - and the view of a lot of outside economists and experts too - is that this will require more certainty for companies and that they will know their workplace is safe; that people will feel safe going to their workplace, which has been an issue throughout the pandemic; and that they will also know that workers are less likely to get sick from COVID, which has been, you know, in a range of industries, an enormous issue and created a great deal of unpredictability across the board.
Go ahead.
Q Jen, can I follow on that?
MS. PSAKI: I'll come back to you, Weijia.
Q Jen, with the Transgender Day of Remembrance fast approaching, 2021 is the - has the highest number of recorded deaths of transgender and non-binary people, totaling out at 45 this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The President brought attention to this issue as a candidate, but has he been briefed on it as - in the White House?
MS. PSAKI: I'm not sure, Chris, and I'm happy to ask the President and see with our domestic policy team if they have briefed him on that. That's devastating, and that's terrible and heartbreaking to hear. It is a commitment of the President to address violence, address threats to transgender people and anyone who's facing those threats.
But I will see if he has been briefed on that.
Q What options are on the table for him to pursue on this issue?
MS. PSAKI: In terms of reducing violence? Let me just see if he's been briefed. And I'll talk to our domestic policy team and maybe we can connect you directly with them to get more information.
Go ahead, Weijia.
Q Thanks, Jen. So that report that my colleague was citing -
MS. PSAKI: Yeah.
Q - was not directly just about people quitting because of COVID mandates.
MS. PSAKI: Oh, okay.
Q Yeah.
MS. PSAKI: That's helpful.
Q But the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, in September alone, 4.4 million people -
