Speeches and Remarks

Cipriani Wall Street
New York, New York

3:38 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  (Applause.)  Good afternoon.  Hi, everyone.  (Applause.) 

Good afternoon.  Thank you all.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

Okay.  We have work to do.  We have work to do.  (Laughs.)  Please have a seat, everyone. 

Oh, it’s so good to see so many friends.  Thank you all, and thank you for all you have done to be so supportive.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you. 

And thank you for all that you have done and for taking the time to be here on this Sunday afternoon.  It means so much.  And we have a lot of work to do, but there’s a lot of work that’s already happened thanks to all of you.  So, thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you.

 And this is a room full of incredible leaders, including, of course, our governor of New York, Kathy Hochul — (applause); Leader Schumer, who has been an extraordinary partner to the president and me — (applause); members of Congress, including Representative Goldman.  (Applause.)  And to all the dear friends and long-standing partners here today, I thank you.  I thank you. 

All right.  Let’s level set.  Everybody get — just get comfortable.  (Laughs.)  Let’s level set.  We have 44 days — 44 days.  And every four years — because a lot of us have been in rooms like this every four years, if not more frequently — and we say, every four years, “This is the one.”  Well, this here is the one.  This is the one.  (Applause.)  This is the one. 

This is probably the most important election of our lifetime and probably one of the most important in the lifetime of our nation.  And this election really is about two very different visions for our nation, a contrast that I think became very clear in the recent debate.  (Applause.) 

And, by the way, I think we should have another debate.  (Applause.)  I just accepted an invitation to debate in October, which my opponent seems to be looking for an excuse to avoid.  But he should accept.  In all seriousness, he should accept, because I feel very strongly that we owe it to the American people and to the voters to meet once more before Election Day and continue the conversation from that first debate.  (Applause.) 

And in that debate, you’ll remember, I talked about my plans to bring down the cost of living, to invest in America’s small businesses, to protect reproductive freedom, and keep our nation safe.  (Applause.)  But that’s not what we heard from Donald Trump.  Instead, it was the same old show; the same old, tired playbook that we’ve heard for years, with no plan for how he would address the needs of the American people. 

Well, it’s time to turn the page.  (Applause.)  It’s time to turn the page.  And America is ready to chart a new way forward, ready for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic — optimistic about what we can do together.  (Applause.)  

And I do believe that is why Democrats and Republicans and independents are supporting our campaign, because they want a president who works for all the American people, and that is the kind of president I pledge to you that I will be. 

I have, my entire career, fought for the people.  As a young courtroom prosecutor in Oakland, California, I stood up for women and children against predators who abused them.  As attorney general of California, I defended communities that were being poisoned by polluters and Big Oil.  I stood up for veterans and students being scammed by big for-profit colleges, for workers who were being cheated out of the wages they were due, for seniors facing elder abuse. 

And as president, I will fight on behalf of all Americans.  And I know that, together, we can and we must build a brighter future for our nation, a future where we build what I called an “opportunity economy” — an economy where everyone can compete and everyone has a real chance to succeed; where middle-class families have security and stability; and all Americans, regardless of who they are or where they start, can build wealth for themselves and their children. 

To build that opportunity economy, I will bring together labor, small business, founders, and innovators in major companies.  We will partner together to invest in America’s competitiveness, to invest in America’s future.  We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting consumers and investors.  We will create a stable business environment with consistent and transparent rules of the road.  We will invest in semiconductors, clean energy, and other industries of the future.  And we will cut needless bureaucracy and unnecessary red tape, all of which will create jobs, drive broad-based economic growth, and cement America’s leadership throughout the world.  (Applause.)  

The way I see it, this is motivated and designed in large part knowing that the vast majority of Americans don’t want to just be able to get by.  They want to get ahead.  They want to get ahead.  They want to be able to own a home, build wealth, start a business. 

And so, I’ll tell you a little bit more about some specific plans I have — and, again, in contrast to my opponent, who offers very little.  (Laughter.) 

So, for example, I’ll tell you I love our small businesses.  I love small businesses.  (Applause.)  I really do.  And maybe it’s because, growing up — and my sister Maya is here — (applause) — you know, when we were growing up — she’s somewhere, usually in the back of the room.  There she is. 

Well, when we were growing up, we lived in an apartment above a childcare center, and that childcare center was owned by Mrs. Shelton, who lived two doors down from us.  And Mrs. Shelton helped my mother raise us.  When my mother worked long days and worked on the weekends, Mrs. Shelton helped raise us to the point that Maya and I have always called Mrs. Shelton our “second mother.” 

Well, Mrs. Shelton was a small-business owner, and I will tell you that I learned from childhood the character of a small-business owner.  She was a matriarch of the community.  She mentored.  She hired locally.  She was part of the civic fabric.  And in addition, then, to being a business leader, she was a civic leader. 

 And when I travel our country — and I have been traveling our country a lot recently, but — but for the last four years, I meet our small-business owners, and they are literally — and I think we would all know this — small businesses are the backbone of America’s economy.  They really are.  (Applause.)

So, my plan includes giving a $50,000 tax deduction to start up small businesses.  (Applause.)  Because here’s the deal.  Right now, the tax deduction for start-ups is $5,000.  Nobody can start a small business on that.  If we really mean that we want to fuel the innovation, if we want to reward the ambition, we got to do better. 

We also need to build more housing in America.  (Applause.)  And so, when I referred earlier to part of how I think about things, it includes cutting the red tape.  And on the issue of building more housing, working with the private sector so that, by the end of my first term, we can build 3 million new homes.  (Applause.)  

Part of my plan includes lowering the cost of living for America’s middle-class families.  Because look, I grew up a middle-class kid, and I will never forget where I came from.  And I have a plan, then, to bring down costs on everything from health care to groceries, because it’s a real impediment to people’s ability to get ahead, and we’ve got to bring down those costs. 

Under my plan, more than 100 million Americans will get a tax cut, including $6,000 during the first year of a child’s life.  (Applause.)  Because, look, new parents, wherever they are, whoever they are, have a natural desire to parent their children well but not always the resources that are necessary to do that.  And it is in our collective benefit to be able to help them, especially when you’re talking about such a fundamental phase of their child’s development. 

So, that $6,000, that’s going to include giving them support to buy a car seat, to buy a crib, to just take care of those basic necessities at a critical time. 

All of that to say: Donald Trump has a very different plan based on a very different vision of who we are and the needs of the American people.  And I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting him back in the White House are extremely serious — extremely serious.  (Applause.)

Look, for example, at Project 2025.  And, you know, honestly, I just have to keep saying this.  I can’t believe they put that thing in writing.  (Laughter.)  I mean, they didn’t just put it in writing.  They — they bound it and — and handed it out.  And, you know, if you can’t sleep one night, google it. 

Because — because here’s the thing.  It is a detailed and dangerous blueprint for what he will do if elected president again.  He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare; to repeal our climate investments and send thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs overseas; and he wants to impose what I call a “Trump sales tax,” a 20 percent tax on everyday basic necessities, which will cost the average American family an additional $4,000 a year. 

And top economists have reviewed our plans.  Goldman Sachs says my plan would grow our economy and that his plan would shrink it.  Sixteen Nobel Prize-winning economists have said he would reignite inflation.  Moody’s assessed he would ignite a recession by the middle of next year. 

On top of all of this, Donald Trump intends to end the Affordable Care Act.  And as he said in the debate, he has — I’m going to quote now — (laughter) — “concepts of a plan.”  (Laughter and applause.)  “Concepts” to replace it. 

In all seriousness, think about this.  So, he’s going to threaten the health insurance of 45 million people based on a concept.  Serious consequences we’re talking about. 

And if he were to do that, it would take us back to when insurance companies had the power to deny people with preexisting conditions.  Remember what that was like — for so many people in our country what that meant, not having access to the health care they need? 

So, I will say, then, what I say everywhere I go and when I’m in those rooms — those very big rooms with a lot of people — yeah — (laughter and applause).  I couldn’t help myself.

But what I say there and — and folks will repeat: We are not going back.  (Applause.)  We are not going back.  We are not going back.  Because, as much of anything, our fight is a fight for the future.  Our fight is a fight for the future. 

I was saying to some folks I was talking with earlier: We’re not fighting against something; we’re fighting for something.  And ours is a fight for the future.  (Applause.) 

And ours is a fight for freedom — (applause) — because you all know — and as I travel the country it becomes increasingly clear to me — there is a full-on attack afoot against hard-fought, hard-won, fundamental freedoms and rights, like the freedom to vote. 

The — in Georgia — right? — passed a law that basically makes it illegal to give people food and water for standing in line to vote.  Think about that.  The hypocrisy abounds.  Whatever happened to “love thy neighbor”?

Attacks on the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride.  (Applause.)  

And on that point, y- — many will remember: I was one of the first electeds in the country — it was Valentine’s weekend of 2004 — to perform same-sex marriages.  Twenty — (applause).  So, this last February, we just celebrated the 20th anniversary of that. 

But think about this.  Think about this.  It pains my heart when I think about that and think about something like in Florida and a “Don’t Say Gay” law and what that means, because, if you think about it, among the people directly impacted are teachers.  And think about that young teacher who is probably in their 20s who is afraid to put up a photograph of themselves and their partner for fear they could be fired.  For doing what job?  God’s work — teaching other people’s children. 

So, this is real, what we’re looking at, in terms of these attacks on fundamental freedoms and rights.  And, of course, front of mind for so many is the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.  (Applause.)

And on that point, let’s always remember and remind folks of how we got here.  Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court — the court of Thurgood and RBG — with the intention that they would overturn the protections of Roe v. Wade, and they did as he intended. 

And now more than 20 states have a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions even for rape and incest, which is immoral.  (Applause.)  It is immoral to tell a survivor of a crime of violence to their body, of violation of their body, that they don’t have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next.  It’s immoral.

And as I travel the country, most people agree: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.  (Applause.)  Not the government. 

Elections matter.  Elections matter.

And I’ll tell you, when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.)  Proudly sign it into law. 

So, so much is at stake and on the line in this election.  And this is not 2016 or 2020.  It’s not ‘16 or ‘20, because — for many reasons, including what happened a couple of months ago when the Supreme Court — the United States Supreme Court basically told the former president that he is effectively immune for whatever he does when he’s in the White House. 

Now, think about that.  So, at least before that ruling, there was the appearance or the threat of consequence, but now there is essentially explicit authority to do whatever he wants. 

And let’s put this ruling, then — this decision in context.  This is a man who has vowed that he will be a dictator on day one.  He has said he would weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies.  He has called for, and I’m going to quote, the “termination” of the Constitution of the United States.  So, just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. 

So, all this to say: Forty-four days.  And we’re all here together, and you all have taken the time out of your busy lives, because we know what is at stake.  And we are all here together because we love our country.  (Applause.)  We love our country.  We love our country. 

And I do believe that it is the highest form of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country and to fight for us to realize the promise of America. 

So, 44 days.  And early voting has already started in some states.  So, essentially, the election is here, right?  And this race — and I cannot emphasize this enough — this race is as close as it could be.  It’s as close as it could be.  This is a margin-of-error race.  I know we’ve got a lot of enthusiasm and excitement about all that is possible.  This is a margin-of-error race.

And I’m running — and we are running — as the underdog in this race.  Our campaign is doing the work we need to do on the airwaves, on voter education in every county of every battleground state.  And we are leading in many ways in terms of what we are committed to doing to build up that grassroots and community-based leadership.  And in the process of all of that, we are leaving it all on the field. 

And your support, as you know, which is why you’ve been so generous — your support is absolutely critical to the work we have in front of us.  The leaders in this room have done so much already, and I’m going to ask for a bit more.  (Laughter.) 

So, here’s what I’m asking for.  The leaders here are part of large networks.  Everyone here is part of many large networks in which you are an opinion leader.  I need you to activate those networks — to tell your friends, your colleagues, your neighbors about the stakes.  Tell them how close this race is, and let them know why you support our campaign. 

And let them know we need their help also in the next 44 days.  And we need their help to please join our team in battleground states and help folks register to vote and get them to the polls; to sign up to make phone calls, to do that kind of work that really is so fundamentally important that’s about that human interaction that I think so many people are really craving to remind us that we’re all in this together. 

And I’ll say this.  In this campaign, let’s also be intentional about building community and building coalitions and bringing folks together, because I do believe that the work we are doing right now — yes, our first imperative is to win, but it is also to build — to build community and coalitions and to remind people that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.  I think there’s a hunger for that right now in our country.  (Applause.)

So, all that to say: This is a fight for our freedom and our future, and the baton is in our hands.  It’s in our hands.  (Applause.) 

And so, I’ll end by saying what I say at every rally.

When we fight —

AUDIENCE:  We win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we win. 

God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

Thank you, all.  Thank you, all.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END                 4:03 P.M. EDT

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Joint Base Andrews
Prince George’s County, Maryland

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, guys.

Well, you’ve probably heard I would like another debate.  So, I’m hoping the former president will agree to that, but we have a lot more to discuss. 

Q    You — you raised $27 million from this fundraiser. That’s the largest since you raised — since you were at the top of the ticket.  That’s a lot of money.  How are you feeling about that?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, it — it’s showing that there’s a lot of support for our message and — and what we need to do in terms of, you know, moving forward and charting a new way forward and dispensing with all of the attempts to divide our country and — and to just, you know, really —

The — the problem, I think, on the other side is that there is a — a devaluation of who the American people are.  They just don’t really understand that we’ve got a lot of good people in our country who want to work hard and do well and want a leader who believes that we are, you know, in this together — and I do.

Q    Are you giving an economic speech this week, Madam Vice President?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

Q    Can you tell us anything about what that’s going to be about?  Any preview?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, I’m going to be giving a speech this week that is really to outline my vision for the economy. 

As you’ve heard me talk about, I believe in what we can create in terms of opportunity for the American people.  I’ve named it an “opportunity economy,” which really, in short form, is about what we can do more to invest in the aspirations, the ambitions, and the dreams of the American people while addressing the challenges that they face, whether it’s the — the high price of groceries or the difficulty in being able to acquire homeownership because — for a number of reasons, including we don’t have enough housing supply.

Q    Will the care economy be part of this?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I will touch on it for sure, yeah.

Q    And your message to Donald Trump as you call for a second presidential debate?  I know you told your donors that he’s looking excuse or a reason not to.  So, what’s your message to him?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:   Join me on the debate stage.  Let’s have another debate.  There’s more to talk about, and the voters of America deserve to hear the conversations that I think we should be having on substance, on issues, on policies, what’s your plan, what’s my plan.  And — and we should have another one before Election Day.  So —

Thank you all.

END

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South Lawn

THE PRESIDENT:  We had very successful meetings with the Quad in Delaware.  Total unity.  We were all working together.  I feel good about what we’re doing, and I think the other leaders do as well.

So, thank you for being here.

Q    Mr. President, are you worried about rising tensions in the Middle East?

THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, I am.  But we’re going to do everything we can to keep a wider war from breaking out.  And we’re still pushing hard. 

Thank you.

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Mr. President, how concerned are you about a shutdown?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m not.

Q    Have you made a decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons?

THE PRESIDENT:  No. 

Q    Mr. President, any reaction to the Birmingham mass shooting?

THE PRESIDENT:  I just heard about it on the way down from the plane.  I don’t have anything to report. 

Thank you.

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The South Lawn

Welcome to the White House!

“Back to School” means different things, depending on who you ask.

For students, it’s about reuniting with friends after a summer apart, learning new subjects, and trying out for sports teams.

For teachers like me, it means re-imagining our classrooms, and showing students all that they can do.

For parents, it’s a huge sigh of relief—right?

I’ve also been thinking about what “Back to School” meant four years ago.

The pandemic was still raging. And our schools were silent. Teachers had to reach out to students through Zoom squares. Bus drivers dropped off Wifi hot-spots to neighborhoods with no connection. Counselors took call after call from parents in tears, just trying to juggle it all.

Our educators came to the rescue.

Thank you for being the heroes we needed.

As President, Joe has had your back and been your champion.

His Administration helped reopen our schools safely, made historic investments in public schools, fixed student loan relief for public servants. And Joe is fighting to make sure educators are paid what you’re worth.

Since he took office, 30 states and Washington, D.C. have increased teacher pay.

For my last “Back to School” season here at the White House, I wanted to celebrate all of that progress.

Thank you to the President’s Own Marine Band for providing the soundtrack for today’s festivities. I’m so grateful to you and your families for your service to our nation—and so is your Commander-in-Chief.

We also have several Teachers of the Year with us. I got to meet so many of you at the first-ever State Dinner for Teachers of the Year a few months ago. I am amazed by the love and care you pour into your students and classrooms.

And it’s great to have Secretary Cardona here, along with his wife, Marissa, who is also an educator. Secretary Cardona—Miguel—you spend every day thinking about how to best support students, and lifting up teachers and schools. Joe and I are grateful for your commitment to our nation’s learners.

With each new school year, we stand on the precipice of possibility.

Teachers will broaden horizons from their classrooms, parents will see how much their kids can grow and learn, students will let their imaginations soar. And Joe and I will be cheering you on. 

But tonight, everybody remember: it’s not a school night.

So please have fun on the best lawn in America.

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The South Lawn

Thank you, Fig. You inspire young people to get excited about their education, especially in STEM. We’re lucky to have you guiding the future of the White House Historical Association.

And I’m glad to see so many Association board members with us. I know you all have had a packed schedule these past few days. Your commitment to this project warms my heart. Thank you.

Earlier, we heard from the Suitland High School Choir. We appreciate you sharing your voices with us today.

And thank you, Emma, JD, and Jonas, for leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance!

We’ve also had the Armed Forces Color Guard presenting the colors, and the President’s Own Marine Band playing the beautiful music we’ve heard this afternoon. Joe and I are so grateful to you and your families for your service to our nation.

And it’s great to see so many kids on the South Lawn. The project we’re celebrating today is for you.    

Welcome, everyone, to the White House!

Doorway by doorway, moment by moment, every piece of the White House is cloaked in history—whether it’s in the Cabinet Room where President Kennedy deliberated over the Cuban Missile Crisis, or the East Room where President Theodore Roosevelt once held a wrestling match.

Kids roller skated in the room where we host heads of state, and nearby, in the Red Room, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt held her own press conferences back when women were excluded from the President’s press briefings.

Some guests at the White House have the chance to step inside these rooms—in fact, around 3,000 people come through these halls every day. But the reality is that many people never get that opportunity.

 

Even fewer get to walk through the Rose Garden and the Oval Office. And almost no one gets to go behind the scenes to hear from the Chief Floral Designer or glimpse the upper floor of the residence.

Until now.

Starting Monday, an immersive learning center will be open to all.

“The People’s House: A White House Experience” will bring new generations closer to the home behind me, sparking greater curiosity for civics education and our democracy.

Teachers know the best way to learn is by involving all of the senses—and lingering in the little details that stand out to you.

Right across the street, people will be able to interact and experience how our government works. 

That makes this new space a powerful kind of classroom. Because when people learn more about our democracy, they will be more inspired to participate in it.

At 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, in an exact replica of the Oval Office, you can feel the gravity of sitting behind the President’s Resolute desk. You can join the intense deliberations of a Cabinet meeting. And you can get swept away by the 360-degree enchantment of a State Dinner.

Along the way, you’ll meet people who have lived and worked here across centuries—from Cabinet Secretaries advising the President in times of war, to the chefs, ushers, and florists who work together to arrange the most intricate details of American diplomacy.

Students will imagine themselves as public servants through interactive technology, and teachers will have dedicated spaces to bring their lesson plans to life.

Stewart, you’ve put your whole heart and soul into “The People’s House”—and frankly, I’m not sure when you found the time to sleep! Month after month, you guided this project with careful precision and breathtaking speed.

I’ve been a part of the process from when it was just an idea, to the final touches—and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.

So, let’s get started. In just a moment, a group of students will load onto a bus to experience this incredible, immersive space. 

I know it will encourage them to embrace the wonder of White House history, and inspire them to shape our nation’s future.

Thank you, and please enjoy the celebration!

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Archmere Academy
Claymont, Delaware

6:42 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Hello, hello, hello.

(A helicopter flies overhead.)

By the way, that little thing up in the air there, don’t worry about it.  (Laughter.)  It’s not armed.

Good evening, everyone — Prime Minister Albanese, Prime Minister Modi, and Prime Minister Kishida; and Governor John Carney, Senator Chris Coons, and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester; all the scientists and doctors and advocates here tonight.  What a fitting way to end the Quad Summit, by launching another historic endeavor. 

When I was vice president, Jill and I launched here in the States what we call the Cancer Moonshot.  We committed to end cancer as we know it and make — reach 50 percent cure for cancers in a timeframe that we’ve announced. 

We had lost our son to glioblastoma in 2015 — Beau, a graduate of this great institution.  And like many mothers and fathers, quite frankly, we were ready to give up.  But — I wasn’t going to run again.  My son Beau, knowing he was going to die shortly, pulled me aside — not a joke; I wrote about it — made me promise that I wouldn’t walk away, that I’d stay involved, because he knew the impact if we stayed — and we stayed and made the case. 

I remember him saying to me, “Dad” — this is the God’s truth — “Dad, I’m not afraid.  I’m going to be okay.”  He knew he was about to die.  But he said, “You’ve got to promise me you’ll stay involved.”  Because he knew, the way he talked about it, that — that it would give people hope, that those of us and many of you experienced it. 

I bet if I asked you to raise your hand, including the press, for anybody who’s lost a family member or has been diagnosed with cancer, it’s the vast majority of you.

And it seems to me there is nothing that families and/or the cancer — person suffering from cancer needs more than hope — hope — hope that science will outrace the disease.

When I — after Beau died, I literally visited every major cancer research facility in the world — seven of them around the world.  I wanted to see what was possible, and I did.

And, by the way, I didn’t do it alone.  I want to thank Danielle Carnival, who is here — where are you, Danielle?  I want people to see you — who is (inaudible) and ma- — worked on putting this together for me. 

During those trips, I got to see in- — the incredible dedication — incredible dedication that the scientists, doctors, and nurses.

And, by the way, having spent a lot of time, like many of you have, in hospitals, you know, doctors let you live; nurses make you want to live.  They give you ho- — male and female, you think I’m kidding.  They had hope.

And they’re making a significant progress, all of you — those of you scientists out here.  And it’s not just because it’s personal — this — but it’s because it’s possible.

When I became president, we reignited our Cancer Moonshot with an ambitious goal: cut the cancer death rate by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years or even cure — and cure many cancers. 

Throughout this effort, what amazed me was that leaders around the world asked about the Cancer Moonshot.  Its mission that brings us — that’s the — the mission that brings us together tonight and one that brings the best of us.  That’s why we’re here today.

I’m proud to announce that the Quad Cancer Moonshot is what we’re talking about.  Our goal is to team up, end cancer around the world, and start — starting with cervical cancer.  I know it may sound unrealistic, but it’s not. 

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers in the world.  In fact, we have prevention and screening tools and treatments to make it the first cancer that can — ever to eliminate — be eliminated.  Yet it’s still one of the most deadly ca- — cancers across the world. 

Every year, 150,000 women die from cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific — every year.  That’s more than double the population of this city.  We can’t and will not let that continue. 

The four of proud us are proud democracies.  We’re coming together to deliver a better hope, more hope for our people.  In practice, the Quad Cancer Moonshot means more collaboration between our hospitals, research centers, and cancer foundations; more investment in screenings, treatment, and research; and more exchanges between our countries to improve vaccination rates all across the region. 

Right now, only 1 in 10 women across the Indo-Pacific, which is the most populated part of the world, have received HPV vaccinations for cervical cancer.  So, I’m proud to announce that our four countries, the leaders behind me, and many organizations here today are committing over $150 million for HPV — HPV screening and therapeutics. 

And next year, doctors and nurses from the U.S. Navy will begin a program to train Indo-Pacific counterparts in conducting cervical cancer screening and vaccinations so we can reach every woman in the region.  And it matters. 

Folks, let me close with this.  During my first year as president, I received a letter from a mother from Tennessee.  She had been recently diagnosed with cervical cancer.  She said she experienced every emotion, from denial to anger to fear to grief.  Jill and I remember those feelings as well. 

But when she asked herself, “What am I going to do?  Am I going to give up?  Am I going to fight?”  She answered, “I choose to fight.” 

We’ve got to choose to fight.  Choose to fight (inaudible).

Ladies and gentlemen, today America, Australia, India, and Japan choose to fight for every patient asking for one more day, one more week, one more year; every survivor and caregiver who carries the scars of recovery; and every person we’ve lost and every person we can save. 

Because there is only — there’s truly nothing beyond our capacity when we act together — not even beating cancer.  And that’s what this group is about today.

So, I want to thank you all for being here.  And now, who am I introducing next?  Who’s next?

ANNOUNCER:  Distinguished guests, the prime minister of the Republic of India.  (Applause.)

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  By the way, he’s from a small country like ours.  It’s low population.  (Laughter.)  But he’s become a good and decent man and a good friend.

PRIME MINISTER MODI:  Thank you.  (Laughs.)

(As interpreted.)  Excellencies, I thank President Biden for organizing this very important event.  This demonstrates our shared firm resolve to provide affordable, accessible, and quality health care.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we took the Quad vaccine initiative for the Indo-Pacific.  And I am pleased that in the Quad, we have decided to face the challenge of cervical cancer together. 

In cancer care, collaboration is essential for cure.  In order to reduce the burden of cancer, it is necessary to have an integrated approach of prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. 

In India, an exceedingly cost-effective cervical cancer screening program is being implemented on a mass scale.  At the same time, India has also implemented the world’s largest health insurance scheme, and special centers to provide generic medicine at affordable costs have also been set up.

India has also developed its own vaccine for cervical cancer.  And with the help of AI, we have also implemented new treatment protocols.

Excellencies, India is ready to share its experience and expertise.  Several Indian experts working in the field of cancer care have also joined us at this event today. 

India’s vision is One Earth, One Health.  It is with this sentiment, under the Quad Moonshot Initiative, I announced an assistance of sampling kits, detection kits, and vaccines worth $7.5 million.  (Applause.)  India will also provide support in radiotherapy treatment and capacity-building. 

I am pleased that for the countries of the Indo-Pacific, under the initiatives of Gavi and Quad, 40 million doses of vaccine will be contributed by India.  These 40 million doses of vaccine will be rays of hope in the lives of millions of people.

As you can see, when the Quad acts, it is not just for nations, it is for the people.  This is the true essence of our human-centric approach. 

Thank you.  (Applause.)

ANNOUNCER:  Distinguished guests, the prime minister of Japan.

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  President Biden, Prime Minister Albanese, Prime Minister Modi, dear participants, it is my pleasure to attend the Quad Cancer Moonshot on the sidelines of the Summit. 

Joe has worked passionately on measures against cancers over many years.  I wish to express my heartfelt congratulations to you, Joe, on the fruition of your dedication in the form of the Quad cooperation, and I express my esteem for Joe’s leadership.

The Quad demonstrated strong solidarity in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In the post-COVID era today, the response to health-related challenges that have receded due to the pandemic is even more important.  Efforts to deal with regional health and security, including cooperation on cancers, is indeed a timely initiative.

Regarding our support for measures against cancers in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan has offered support, such as the deployment of equipment and technical cooperation or support through international organizations and initiatives.  We are also collaborating with research institutions working on cancers in the United States, Australia, and India.  (Applause.)

Regarding the measures against cervical cancers, we have supported the deployment of medical equipment and facilities, offered technical cooperation, or have contributed to international organizations, including Gavi Vaccine Alliances, UNFPA, and IPPF, among others.  And such endeavors will continue going forward.

We will cooperate with you closely in order to bring together the technologies and networks of the Quad to raise the effects of our measures against cancers even further.

Thank you for kind attention.  (Applause.)

ANNOUNCER:  Distinguished guests, the prime minister of Australia.  (Applause.)

PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE:  Thank you very much.  I’m delighted to be here today alongside my good friends President Biden, Prime Minister Modi, and Prime Minister Kishida. 

The unifying principle of the Quad is that we can achieve more together than on our own.  Our work on health is a powerful example of that. 

At the very first Quad Leaders’ Summit, chaired by President Biden, the Quad agreed to work together to improve access to COVID vaccines.  As a direct result, more than 400 million vaccine doses made their way into communities in the Indo-Pacific.  That changed lives, and it saved lives.

That’s what the Quad Cancer Moonshot Initiative is all about as well.  This program builds on one of President Biden’s signature policy initiatives, not just in his term as president but throughout his time in public life.  It’s a reflection of the ambition and empathy, the vision and compassion that has defined President Biden’s leadership. 

It’s about understanding people’s pain but doing something to help.  This is personal for the president and for Dr. Biden.  It is personal for all of us, because in our nations, as in every part of the world, cancer casts its shadow on the lives of our citizens and our loved ones.

Australia is proud of the leading role that we’ve played preventing cervical cancer worldwide.  The HPV vaccine was developed at the University of Queensland by Australian of the Year, Professor Ian Frazer.  That vaccine, together with improvements in screening and treatment, means Australia is on track to be the first country in the world to eliminate cervical cancer.

Yet, beyond our shores, the story is very different.  One in four global cervical cancer cases occur in the Indo-Pacific.  And tragically, women in the Pacific die of the disease at up to 13 times the rate of women in Australia. 

These people are not numbers.  They are our neighbors, members of our Pacific family, and we’re stepping forward to help.

Today, I can announce that Australia is expanding our funding commitment to the Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer, known as EPICC.  Alongside a generous contribution from the Minderoo Foundation, the expansion will use Australian cervical cancer expertise to help more partner governments get HPV vaccine programs up and running across the region.

This will also increase screening and treatment and provide support for health workers.  It will build on what we’ve learned in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu and make it available to Malaysia, Timor-Leste, the Solomons, Tuvalu, Fiji, and Nauru as well.

It’s fitting that this Cancer Moonshot takes its name from a famous American achievement that inspired the world: a choice America made to mobilize its collective talent and go to the Moon not because it was easy but because it was hard.  That’s the spirit of this endeavor. 

All of us know that curing cancer, defeating it once and for all, will be hard but not as hard as the lonely, exhausting physical and emotional ordeal of diagnosis and treatment and never as hard as losing the people we love, which everyone here, I’m sure, has been impacted by at one stage in their life.

In 1969, seven years after President Kennedy called on his fellow Americans to organize and measure the best of their abilities to meet an unprecedented challenge, the world watched as two Americans walked on the Moon.  The images of that defining moment in human history were carried to Tokyo and Osaka, New Delhi and Chennai, Wilmington and Washington, D.C., by the Australian radio telescope in Parkes.

Australians will always be proud of the part we played in sharing that triumph of science and human courage with the world. 

We’re proud to stand with the United States, with India, and with Japan in this shared effort to change lives for the better.

Thank you.  (Applause.)

7:00 P.M. EDT

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Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Atlanta, Georgia

3:21 P.M. EDT

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Can we please hear it for Dr. Reddick?  Please.  (Applause.)

Please have a seat, everyone.  Please have a seat. 

It’s so good to be back in Atlanta.  Thank you all.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Thank you. 

You know, I — I just want to say —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible) to have you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Laughter.)

I just — I want to say about Dr. Reddick — you know, I — some of you may have seen I did a — an event last night with Oprah Winfrey and — (applause) — and that — it highlighted so many tragic stories, but it also highlighted so many important issues, which is why everyone has taken time out of your busy lives to be here this afternoon.  And it highlighted the importance of a Dr. Reddick.  

AUDIENCE:  Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Because the courage, Dr. Reddick, that you are showing in the face of these arcane and immoral laws, to stand so publicly and talk about your commitment to your oath and to the health and well-being of people who need to be seen and treated with dignity is so extraordinary. 

And I do believe, in moments of crisis, the world has a way of revealing the heroes among us.  (Applause.)  And I would say, Dr. Reddick, you are one of them.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

And thank you to all of the elected and community leaders who have joined us today.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, everybody — everybody who is here.

So, Georgia, the- — this election right here is a fight for the future.  (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom — for freedom. 

And we know, in America, freedom is not to be given.  It is not to be bestowed.  It is ours by right.  (Applause.)  It is ours by right, and that includes the fundamental freedom of a woman to be able to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do.  (Applause.)  Yes, we must trust women.

And we all know how we got here.  When Donald Trump was president, he hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court — the court of Thurgood and RBG — with the intention that they would overturn the protections of Roe v. Wade.  And as he intended, they did.

And now more than 20 states have Trump abortion bans — extremists that have passed laws that criminalize health care providers, doctors and nurses, and punish women.  In two states of those states, they provide for prison for life — prison for life for health care providers for simply providing reproductive care, the care they so earnestly and rightly believe must be delivered.  All Trump abortion bans. 

And think about this: Many of these bans make no exception even for rape and incest. 

Now, many of you know I started my career as a prosecutor specializing in crimes of violence against women and children.  What many of you may not know is why. 

So, when I was in high school, my best friend, I learned, was being molested by her stepfather.  And I said to her, “Look, you’ve got to come and stay with us.”  I called my mother.  She said, “Of course she does.”  And she came and she stayed with us. 

And so, I made the decision early in my life that I wanted to do the work that was about protecting the most vulnerable among us and doing the work that was about giving them dignity in the process. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And so — well, thank everybody here for being here, standing in solidarity around the importance of that.  (Applause.)

And so, I say to you, then, from that experience and from the work that I’ve done, the idea that someone who survives a crime of violence to their body — a violation of their body — would not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next, that’s immoral.  That’s immoral.

And let us agree, and I know we do: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do.  (Applause.)

If she chooses — if she chooses, she will talk with her pastor, her priest, her rabbi, her imam.  But it should not be the government or Donald Trump telling her what to do with her body.  (Applause.)

And think about it — the stories that Dr. Reddick shares with us, the stories we heard last night, the stories we’ve been hearing for two years. 

One in three women in America lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban.  This includes Georgia and every state in the South except Virginia. 

Think about that when you also combine that with what we know has been long-standing neglect around an issue like maternal mortality.  Think about that when you compound that with what has been long-standing neglect of women in communities with a lack of the adequate resources they need for health care — prenatal, during their pregnancy, postpartum.  Think about that. 

And these hypocrites want to start talking about “this is in the best interest of women and children.”  (Applause.)  Well, where you been?  Where you been — (applause) — when it comes to taking care of the women and children of America?  Where you been? 

How dare they?  How dare they?  Come on. 

And — and we understand the impact of these bans and the horrific reality that women and families — their husbands, their partners, their parents, their children are facing as a consequence every single day. 

Since Roe was overturned, I have met women who were refused care during a miscarriage — wanted to have a child, suffering a miscarriage.  I met a woma- — a woman — I’ve actually met several who were turned away from the emergency room.  One, at early stages after the Dobbs decision came down, told me with tears — she was with her husband — about how only when she developed ses- — sepsis did she receive emergency care.  Only when she developed sepsis did she receive emergency care. 

And now we know that at least two women — and those are only the stories we know — here in the state of Georgia died — died because of a Trump abortion ban. 

One — and we heard about her story last night — a vibrant, 28-year-old young woman.  She was ambitious.  You know, we — I talked with her mother and her sisters about her, and they described such an extraordinary life of a person.  She was excited.  She was working hard.  She was a medical assistant.  She was going to nursing school, raising her six-year-old son. 

She was really proud that she had finally worked so hard that she gained the independence.  Her family was telling me that she was able to get an apartment in a gated community with a pool for her son to play in.  She was so proud, and she was headed to nursing school. 

And her name — and we will speak her name —

AUDIENCE:  Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Amber Nicole Thurman. 

AUDIENCE:  Amber Nicole Thurman.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Amber Nicole Thurman.

AUDIENCE:  Amber Nicole Thurman. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right. 

And she had her future all planned out, and it was her plan.  You know, let’s understand — just take pause on that for a moment.  She had her plan, what she wanted to do for her son, for herself, for their future.  And so, when she discovered that she was pregnant, she decided she wanted to have an abortion, but because of the Trump abortion ban here in Georgia, she was forced to travel out of state to receive the health care that she needed. 

But when she returned to Georgia, she needed additional care, so she went to a hospital.  But, you see, under the Trump abortion ban, her doctors could have faced up to a decade in prison for providing Amber the care she needed. 

Understand what a law like this means.  Doctors have to wait until the patient is at death’s door before they take action. 

You know, on the other side of my — you know, the — the other folks, th- — Trump and his running mate, and they’ll talk about, (deepens voice) “Oh, well, yeah, but I — you know, I — I do believe in the exception to save the mother’s life.”  (Laughter.)  Okay.  All right.  Let’s break that down.  Shall we? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Let’s break that down.  (Applause.)  Let’s break that down. 

So, we’re saying that we’re going to create public policy that says that a doctor, a health care provider, will only kick in to give the care that somebody needs if they’re about to die? Think about what we are saying right now.  You’re saying that good policy, logical policy, moral policy, humane policy, is about saying that a health care provider will only start providing that care when you’re about to die? 

And so, Amber waited 20 hours — 20 hours, excruciating hours — until finally she was in enough physical distress that her doctors thought they would be okay to treat her.  But it was too late.  She died of sepsis.  And her last words to her mother — which her mother, as you know, tears up and cries every time she speaks it — last words to her mother, “Promise me you’ll take care of my son.” 

     So, I met last night and I spent time with Amber’s mother and her sisters, and they spoke about Amber — a daughter, a sister, a mother — with the deep love that you can imagine and how terribly they miss her.  And their pain is heartbreaking.  It’s heartbreaking. 

 Amber’s mother, Shanette, told me that the word “preventable” is over and over again in her head when she learned about how her child died — the word “preventable.”  She cannot — she can’t stop thinking about the word that they spoke to her.  It was “preventable.” 

Because, you see, medical experts have now determined that Amber’s death was preventable.  And through the pain and the grief of her mother, who courageously told her story, I promised her, as she has asked, that we will make sure Amber is not just remembered as a statistic — (applause) — that she will not just be remembered as a statistic, so that people will know she was a mother and a daughter and a sister and that she was loved and that she should be alive today — (applause) — and that she should be alive today.

And many of us remember — there’s so many leaders here — from two years ago when the Dobbs decision came down, we knew this could happen.  There is a word “preventable,” and there is another word: predictable. 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And the reality is for every story we hear of the suffering under Trump abortion bans, there are so many other stories we’re not hearing but where suffering is happening every day in our country, an untold number of people suffering.

     Women who are also being made to feel as though they did something wrong.  The judgment factor here is outrageous — being made as though to feel as though they are criminals, as though they are alone. 

So, to those women, to those families, I say on behalf of what I believe we all say: We see you, and you are not alone, and we are all here standing with you.  (Applause.)  Standing with you.  You are not alone.  You are not alone.  (Applause.)

So, Georgia —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We will not be silent.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We — and we will not be silent.

AUDIENCE:  We will not be silent.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we will not be silent.  But this is a health care crisis. 

 AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  This is a health care crisis, and Donald Trump is the architect of this crisis.  He brags about overturning Roe v. Wade.  In his own words, quote, “I did it, and I’m proud to have done it,” he says.  He is proud. 

Proud that women are dying?  Proud that doctors and nurses could be thrown in prison for administering care?  Proud that young women today have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers? 

How dare he?  How dare he?

And in our debate last week — (laughter and applause).  Well, that was fun.  (Laughs.) 

But — and I know everyone here paid attention to the words, though — the words, right? 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.)  I’m trying to get another debate.  We’ll see.  (Laughter.)

But in our debate last week, remember when he said: Everyone wanted Roe v. Wade to be overturned.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I don’t know where “everyone” is.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, exactly.  I don’t know where everyone is either, because — (laughter and applause) — women have been arrested and charged for miscarriages.  They didn’t want that. 

 AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I — I was speaking with a physician who is here, who has, in her professional experience, been administering care to girls.  And what we know is that 12- and 13-year-old survivors of assault are being forced to carry a pregnancy to term.  They didn’t want this. 

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And couples just trying to grow their family being cut off in the middle of IVF treatments, they didn’t want this. 

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And on that last point, you probably saw, this week, for the second time, Republicans in the United States Senate blocked a bill that would protect access to IVF treatment. 

Now, consider among the multitude of ironies the fact that, on the one hand, these extremists want to tell women they don’t have the freedom to end an unwanted pregnancy, and on the other hand, these extremists are telling women and their partners they don’t have the freedom to start a family.  Okay.  And they want to restrict access to contraception as well.

And now Donald Trump says that he would personally cast his vote in Florida, which is where he now lives, to support their extreme abortion ban, just like the one that is here in Georgia.  And —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Felons can’t vote!  (Laughter and applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, that’s a whole different policy discussion that we’ll have for another day.  (Laughter.)

But let’s understand, if he is — if he is elected again as president, Donald Trump will go further.  (Applause.)  But we know what we’re up against, and we must — we must speak of the stakes.  We must remind — everybody here knows, but we got to remind our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers: The stakes are so high. 

Because, if he is elected again, I am certain he will sign a national abortion ban, which would outlaw abortion in every single state.  And he would create a national anti-abortion coordinator — look at Project 2025 — and force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions.  It’s right there.

I can’t believe they put that Project 2025 in writing.  (Laughter.)  I — I — they — they put it — they literally put it in writing.  They bound it.  (Laughter.)  They handed it out.  I mean, they are simply out of their minds.  (Laughter and applause.)

And it’s clear that they just don’t trust women. 

AUDIENCE:  They don’t.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, we trust women.  We trust women.  (Applause.)

And like Dr. Reddick said, when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the United States, I will so proudly sign it back into law.  (Applause.)  I will so proudly sign it into law.  Proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.)

So, 46 days to go.  And let us remember that momentum on this and so many issues — momentum is on our side.  (Applause.)

Let’s remember, since Roe was overturned, every time reproductive freedom has been on the ballot — from Kansas to California to Kentucky; in Michigan, Montana, Vermont, and Ohio — the people of America have voted for freedom.  (Applause.)  The people of America have voted for freedom — and not just by a little but by overwhelming margins, from so-called red states to so-called blue states, providing and making clear, also, this is not a partisan issue.  This is not a partisan issue.  And it is proving that the voice of the people has been heard and will be heard again — and will be heard again.  (Applause.)

So, 46 days to go in probably the most consequential election of our lifetime. 

     And with that, then, today, I ask: Georgia, are you ready to make your voices heard?  (Applause.)

     Do we trust women?  (Applause.)

     Do we believe in reproductive freedom?  (Applause.)

     Do we believe in the promise of America?  (Applause.) 

     And are we ready to fight for it?  (Applause.) 

     And when we fight —

     AUDIENCE:  We win!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we win.  (Applause.)

     God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

     Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you all for being here.  (Applause.)

                             END                3:44 P.M. EDT

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The Rose Garden

“Tell her where you are.”

That was President Bartlet’s suggestion to Donna.

For the entire episode, Donna had been trying to find a way to recognize her high school English teacher, Mrs. Morello—who went above and beyond for her school in Wisconsin.

In the end, President Bartlet calls Donna into the Oval Office. Charlie has Mrs. Morello on the phone. And Donna doesn’t know what to say.

“Tell her where you are.”

And Donna says: “Mrs. Morello, I’m in the Oval Office with the President of the United States, and it’s because of you.”

Now, I teach writing at a community college not too far from here—so I might be a little biased in bringing up this moment. And I want to thank Aaron and everyone who contributed to that episode for that beautiful tribute to educators everywhere.

We just came from the Oval.

Because even though Joe is away hosting the leaders of Australia, India, and Japan in Delaware, he wanted to make sure President Bartlet and his staff had a chance to see the Oval Office again.

I often talk to my students about the power of good storytelling—because it can inspire and shape our world.

When The West Wing lights up our screens, every swell of the opening theme, every fast talking, fast walking journey through seemingly endless halls—every performance—changes how we see the public servants behind these white walls, striving for a better tomorrow.

Thank you to Warner Brothers for making today possible.

And I’m glad to have so many wonderful members of Joe’s Cabinet joining us.

I’m grateful to everyone on stage for taking the time to be here, because your work inspired so many to step forward and serve our country—maybe even some of the people here today: working in Congress, at non-profits and on political campaigns, or at the White House.

That’s the power of storytelling—to inspire the Donnas and Charlies of the world who know they have something to give to this country—and the Mrs. Morellos, who may not serve in Washington, but change us for the better all the same.

So anytime we begin to slip into cynicism or apathy—we just have to remember Jed Bartlet’s White House. A place where there are big blocks of cheese and everyone belongs.

Where you do good.

That’s the story The West Wing showed the nation: this family we create here, dedicated to a purpose greater than any one of us.

I see it every day.

It’s something that’s close to my heart, because, with every new hire, the Biden family grows too.

Yes, the work is hard and the days are long. Yes, there are times when the weight of all we have before us can feel too heavy to carry. But that’s where the heart lies, where the future is created, side by side with our family of true believers—hope pushing us forward each step, each day, until the world is as it ought to be.

Now, it’s my pleasure to introduce, President Bartlet—or as he’s sometimes known, Martin Sheen.

###

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11:37 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, good morning.  I guess it’s still morning, isn’t it?  Yep.

Before I begin this Cabinet meeting, I want to discuss very briefly the need for Congress to pass a continuing resolution.  It’s critical.  And we have 10 days for Congress to pass a short-term funding bill that gives them more time to deliver on our national defense, veterans, hardworking families — what we’ve already appropriated.  It’s important we get it done.

And it’s the only path forward, b- — it’s by working across the aisle.  We got to have faith that our leaders will pull this together.  It’s really important.  It’s a — and — to fund the government. 

And — and so, this Cabinet meeting comes at a time when we have four months left in the administration.  And we’re going to keep running through the tape because the vice president and I are determined to keep making sure that the democracy delivers what the American people are asking for and what we provided.

That means continuing to implement the historic laws we’ve passed.  They’ve allowed us to invest in America, rebuild our infrastructure, and implement our historic laws. 

So, we’re grateful that Jill is here today.  (Laughter.)  I heard that clapping — it wasn’t for me — when we came in.

And here, across previous administrations, first ladies have attended these meetings and on — for specific reasons.  It’s the first time Jill has joined us.  And it goes to show how important the issue is, what she’s about to speak to, to both of us.

Today, at the top of our meeting, Jill is going to give an update on the House initiative — White House initiative to fundamentally change the approach and fund — on how we approach and fund women’s health services.

So, I’d like to turn it over to Jill and — for any comments she has. 

THE FIRST LADY:  Thanks, Joe.

THE PRESIDENT:  And it’s all yours, kid.

THE FIRST LADY:  Thank you.

You know, sometimes the White House surprises you.  When Joe became president, I knew I wanted to keep shining a light on the issues that I’d worked on for so many years: supporting military and veteran families, ending cancer as we know it with the Biden Cancer Moonshot, lifting up educators, and promoting free community college as a pathway to good-paying careers.

But then last year, I learned about — more about gaps — huge gaps in our understanding of women’s health.  Our nation is home to the best health research in the world, yet women’s health is understudied and research is underfunded.  And we still know too little about how to affectively prevent, diagnose, and treat a range of health conditions in women, from heart disease to cancers.

It was one of those moments where you can never see the world the same way again.  And I knew that I had to add this to my portfolio. 

So, last November, Joe and I launched the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.  And what has never surprised me about the White House is that when you have a great team, which Joe has in all of you, you can bring about solutions quickly.

I’m here, my first time at a Cabinet meeting, to thank you for the incredible progress we’ve made on women’s health research, all in less than a year.

Joe directed federal departments and agencies to prioritize women’s health research and innovation, and you responded.

In February, ARPA-H, the agency Joe created to pursue breakthrough health research, at lightning speed, launched its first-ever Sprint for Women’s Health.  The $100-million investment will fund innovations that will be life-changing for women.

Then, a month later, NIH committed another $200 million to fund interdisciplinary women’s health research, for ex- — for example, looking at how menopause affects heart health, brain health, and bone health.

In May, the Department of Defense and the VA launched a new joint effort to improve research for women in the military and for women veterans.

On Monday, I’ll be at the Clinton Global Initiative to make a new announcement, and we will share more then.

In June, the Department of Health and Human Services announced new funding to address the unique mental health and substance use treatment needs of women.

Your agencies are strengthening standards so that when the government funds research, it includes women from the beginning.  That means making sure women are enrolled in clinical trials and that researchers design studies, analyze data, and report finding[s] in ways that improve women’s health.

Joe’s executive order directed the most comprehensive set of actions that any president has ever taken to advance women’s health research.  And in his State of the Union Address, he asked Congress for $12 billion to secure the bold and transformative health discoveries we need.

Our White House initiative has built momentum for health research focused on women, but we have to keep moving forward.  We have to keep wok- — working across government and the private sector to incentive innovative health research for women.

It’s time to write a new story of health care in this country, one where women get the answers we need, where the United States continues to be home to the most cutting-edge research in the world, and where everyone can lead healthier lives.

Thank you.  (Applause.)

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Mr. President, is it realistic to get to a ceasefire?

Q    Mr. President, what do (inaudible)?

(Cross-talk.)

THE PRESIDENT:  On the peace process, we’re continuing to try to do what we’ve tried from the beginning to make sure that both the people in Northern Israel as well as Southern Lebanon are able to go back to their homes and go back safely.  And the secretary of State, the secretary of Defense, our whole team is working — the intelligence community — to try to get that done.  And we’re going to keep at it until we get it done.  But we’ve got a way to go.

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Is it realistic? 

(Cross-talk.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Shh.  Hey.

Q    Is it realistic to get to a ceasefire deal, or have too many bad things happened that make it difficult?

THE PRESIDENT:  If I ever said it’s not realistic, we might as well leave.

A lot of things don’t look realistic until we get them done.  We have to keep at it.

Thank you.

11:45 A.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden Before Cabinet Meeting appeared first on The White House.

Studio Center
Farmington Hills, Michigan

8:24 P.M. EDT

     MS. WINFREY:  Kamala Harris!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi.

     MS. WINFREY:  So, welcome to —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oprah —

     MS. WINFREY:  Oh, hello!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi.  (Laughs.)

     MS. WINFREY:  Madam Vice President, hello.  Welcome to Michigan.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It’s so good to be back. 

     And, Governor, thank you for everything you are and everything you do for this state.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

     MS. WINFREY:  Well —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

     MS. WINFREY:  Can you see this?  We have a thousand —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oh, my goodness.

     MS. WINFREY:  — screens here —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oh, my goodness.

     MS. WINFREY:  — representing people from all over the country.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everyone.  Oh, my goodness.

     MS. WINFREY:  Can you feel — can you feel —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

     MS. WINFREY:  Can you feel it?  Can you feel —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I can.

     MS. WINFREY:  — the joy rising in here?

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I can.  And I — I have to tell you, there is so much that I love about our campaign, because it really is about the people.  And I look around at these screens, Oprah, I look at who’s in the room, and this is America.

     MS. WINFREY:  This is.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  This is America.  You know, I was saying with a group of friends earlier: I think, in this moment, where we’ve dealt with so much that I think is quite exhausting around powerful forces that would try and divide us —

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and try us — to have us, as Americans, pointing fingers at each other —

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — that this movement that is about reminding each other that we have so much more in common than what separates us is so critically important, and this is about the strength of who we are as Americans.  And this movement that we’re in about, as I like to say, seeing in the face of a stranger, a neighbor.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes, yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right?

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes, yes, yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  An extension of “love thy neighbor,” that you literally, in the face of a stranger, see a neighbor —

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and approach each other with that level of dignity and grace and — and kindness.

     MS. WINFREY:  Well, that’s exactly what happened with —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You know?

     MS. WINFREY:  — Win With Black Women.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

     MS. WINFREY:  I know you’ve known Jotaka —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Jotaka.

     MS. WINFREY:  — for many years.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, my dear.  Oh.

     MS. WINFREY:  Well, that’s exactly what happened — (applause) —    

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  She started it.

     MS. WINFREY:  — tha- — is that they had this big call —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Jotaka started it.

     MS. WINFREY:  They had the big call —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It’s your fault.  (Laughs.)

     MS. WINFREY:  They had the big call and then said, “Let’s open the door.”

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     MS. WINFREY:  “Let’s open the door and invite everybody else in.”  And everybody actually came.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Organically.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Organically.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Like, this is the beauty of our country.  I — you know, there’s so much at stake in this election, and, ultimately, the question before us is: What kind of country do we want to live in?

     And the beauty of a democracy — as long as we can hold on to it — the beauty of a democracy is each of us has the power —

     MS. WINFREY:  That’s right.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — each of us has the power —

     MS. WINFREY:  That’s right.  That’s right.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — to answer that question.

     MS. WINFREY:  That’s right.  Everybody —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right?

     MS. WINFREY:  — on this call and beyond has the power.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     MS. WINFREY:  But can I just start with this?

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes, please.

     MS. WINFREY:  I have to say this, because in all of my private conversations — Gayle and I have said this a hundred times —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     MS. WINFREY:  Ev- — and everybody is saying it.  You all have said it.  I know you have.  It seems to us that something happened to you the moment Joe Biden — President Biden stepped aside and withdrew his candidacy, that a veil or something dropped, and you just stepped into your power.  (Applause.)

     I mean, literally, looking at you at a speech like the week before, which was a great speech, very nice — (laughter) — and then the next week —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oprah.  (Laughs.)

     MS. WINFREY:  — I saw you walking in the thing — (Oprah struts around the stage) — (laughter and applause) — and I said, “What happened to you?”

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You know, we each have those moments in our lives where it’s time to step up.

     MS. WINFREY:  Time to step up.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Time to step up, you know.  (Applause.) 

     MS. WINFREY:  Well, the moment you heard — I mean, I really have been saying to people, it felt like a veil dropped, and you sort of stepped through that veil.  Did — did that actually — did you feel like that?

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I felt a sense of responsibility, to be honest with you.  And with that, comes a sense of purpose.

     But, I mean, we’re all here, and you all are taking time out of your busy lives — everyone here, everyone on the screen — because there really is so much at stake.  You know, I have spent the majority of my career being concerned about the well-being of other people.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  As I have said, my career as a prosecutor, I never looked at a — a victim or a witness and asked them, “Are you a Republican or a Democrat?”  The only thing I ever asked them is, “Are you okay?”

     MS. WINFREY:  “Are you okay?”  I know, when I heard that —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You know?

     MS. WINFREY:  — it touched me.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And traveling this country and knowing what is at stake in terms of fundamental freedoms, what’s at stake in terms of fighting against hate and those — those efforts to divide us, and I do know that I am in a position to do something about it. 

     So, I felt a great responsibility and — and the incredible power of the people — right? — who — and I’m not the only leader in this.  We’re all leaders in this. 

     This is so much bigger than me.  It’s about who we are as Americans, and it’s about making clear what we stand for.  And what we stand for is it is about the ideals upon which we were founded, including the importance of freedom and — and the importance of independence and — and the importance of dignity and — and purpose, but it is also about what we stand for in terms of our values.

     I — I think of it this way —

     MS. WINFREY:  Yeah, I think a lot boils down to values.  I just said: Values are —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It really does.

     MS. WINFREY:  — on the line here.  Yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It does.  I mean, think about it, Oprah.  The idea that some would suggest and that my opponent and — suggests, which is that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down — come on.  The real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.  And it’s — it’s important for us — (applause) —

     MS. WINFREY:  Absolutely.  And, you know —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — to articulate that.

     MS. WINFREY:  You know, ever since the debate, we feel for our fellow citizens in Springfield.  Do you not —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     MS. WINFREY:  — think about the fellow citizens in Springfield, Ohio; the Haitian families; the — the non-Haitian families; everybody having to deal with this lie that has endangered the lives of Haitian people and anybody who looks Haitian?  Everybody in America feels for that.

     And I — also, everybody in America — left, right, middle — has concerns about immigration.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     MS. WINFREY:  And I’m told that Justin — Justin, where are you in the audience?  Justin —

     PARTICIPANT:  Hello.

     MS. WINFREY:  — in our audience.

     PARTICIPANT:  Hello, Madam Vice President.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, Justin.

     MS. WINFREY:  You live in Michigan?

     PARTICIPANT:  Yes, ma’am.

     MS. WINFREY:  Don’t you love saying, “Hello, Madam Vice President”?  (Laughter.)

     PARTICIPANT:  I do.  I do.

     MS. WINFREY:  What’s — what’s your question?  It’s an immigration question, I was told.

     PARTICIPANT:  My question for you is: When you become president, what would be your specific steps —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  With your help.  (Laughter.)

     PARTICIPANT:  Yeah, of course.  What would be your specific steps to strengthening the border?

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, it’s a wonderful and important question.  I — you know my background was as a prosecutor, and I was also the elected attorney general for two terms of a border state.  So, this is not a theoretical issue for me.  This is something I’ve actually worked on.

     PARTICIPANT:  Okay.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I have prosecuted transnational criminal organizations for the trafficking of guns, drugs, and human beings.  I take very seriously the importance of having a secure border and ensuring the safety of the American people.

     Sadly, where we are now can be traced most recently back to the fact that when the United States Congress — members of the Congress, including some of the most conservative Republicans, came up with a border security bill — and here’s what that border security bill would have done: It would have put 1,500 more border agents at the border.

     And let me tell you, those border agents are working around the clock.  It would have just been about giving them some support and relief, which is probably why the border agents actually endorsed the bill.

     It would have allowed us to stem the flow of fentanyl.  And I’m looking at people from all over the country here, so I don’t need to tell the folks who are watching this what fentanyl has done to families, to — to kids in our country, and the need to take seriously stemming the flow coming into our country and addressing that extraordinary and — and tragic issue in terms of its effect.

     The bill would have allowed us to have more resources to prosecute transnational criminal organizations, and it would have been part of the solution.

     And Donald Trump called up those folks and said, “Don’t put that bill on the floor for a vote.”  He blocked the bill.  And you know why? 

     PARTICIPANT:  Why?

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Because he’d prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.  (Applause.)

     And he has put his politil — personal political security before border security.  Because understand, even in the intervening months, what that bill would have done to give support to folks who care about this issue.

     And this, again, gets to the point about what does leadership really look like, and is it about you or is it about the people? 

     PARTICIPANT:  Right.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Is it about running on problems or fixing problems?

     My work and my career has always been about saying, “Let’s fix problems.”

     MS. WINFREY:  So —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Let’s address the needs, because we know it’s within our capacity to do that.

     MS. WINFREY:  So, to answer Justin’s question, now that that bill has gone and hasn’t passed, will you reintroduce that?

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Absolutely.  And when I am elected president of the United States, I will make sure that bill gets to my desk, and I will sign it into law.  (Applause.) 

     MS. WINFREY:  Thank you, Justin.

     PARTICIPANT:  Thank you.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Justin.

     MS. WINFREY:  Listen to this.  A majority of young Americans, 18 to 34, say that the cost of living is their top issue ahead of the election.  Let’s take a look.

     (A video is played.)

     Well, Rachael and Garrett are joining us on Zoom from Pennsylvania.  And I understand your sister and brother-in-law moved in, and you’re hoping to save money to have a second child.

     PARTICIPANT:  (Via teleconference.)  That’s right.  Hi, Oprah.  Hi, Madam Vice President.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, guys.

     PARTICIPANT:  It’s nice to be with you all.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi.

     MS. WINFREY:  And so —

     PARTICIPANT:  (Inaudible.)

     MS. WINFREY:  — what did — what did you want to say to the vice president?

     PARTICIPANT:  So, Madam Vice Predi- — President, we are, like many, many young Americans, just experiencing a very high cost of living.  We ended up giving up our apartment, moving in with our parents, who were so gracious to take us in for over a year so that we could save money and ultimately buy a home, because that’s what we thought the American dream was: to —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yep.  Yeah.

     PARTICIPANT:  — to get married and buy a home and have a baby.

     And now, here we are, and our mortgage is incredibly higher than what we thought it would be.  And my sister and our brother-in-law are living with us right now so that they can hopefully one day do the same.  And while it’s beneficial for us because they help us pay off some of our mortgage, it’s also beneficial for them because they can save on cheaper rent. 

     But we really would love to know what your plan is to help lower the cost of living.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  I — first of all, thank you both for being here.  And yours is a — a story I hear around the country as I travel, and in terms of both rightly having the right to have aspirations and dreams and ambitions for your family and working hard and finding that the American dream is, for this generation and so many recently, far more elusive than it’s been.  And we need to deal with that, and there are a number of ways. 

One is bringing down the cost of everyday necessities, including groceries.  So, that’s why I’m taking on, for example, price gouging, which is when — you know, most companies and corporations are good, but for those bad ones, they take advantage of people, especially during a pandemic or extreme weather, and they end up jacking up prices.  And there needs to be accountability and consequence for that.  So, I’m going to be taking on price gouging.

But it’s also about dealing with what we need to do around homeownership, right?  So, as someone mentioned during this — this film — look, I grew up a child of a mother who worked very hard.  She raised me and my sister.  And she saved up, and by the time I was a teenager, she was able to buy a home. 

And we grew up, actually, for a long time, in an apartment on top of a childcare center that was owned by the woman we called our second mother, because she helped my mother raise us, and she was a small business owner: Ms. Shelton. 

So, I’ll bring all this together to tell you: The way I think about it is, one, when people work hard and have a dream of buying a home, we should give you the opportunity to be able to do that, which is why part of my plan is for first-time homeowners — -buyers to have a $25,000 down payment assistance to buy your first home.  Because people just need — (applause) — to be able to get their foot in the door, and then you’ll do the hard work. 

Part of my plan is what we need to do to support small businesses, because my second mother was a small-business owner.  And I love our small businesses and our small-business owners.  They are not only business leaders, they are community leaders.  They — they mentor; they hire locally.  And we have so many entrepreneurs in our country who have great ideas, incredible work ethic, but not necessarily access to capital, because not everybody, like my opponent, was handed $400 million on a silver plate that he filed bankruptcy six times on.  (Laughter.)

And so, part of my plan is to give start-up small businesses a $50,000 tax deduction to start up their small business.  Right now, it’s $5,000.  Nobody can start a small business with $5,000.  So, that’s part of my plan. 

MS. WINFREY:  It’s — that’s a teeny-tiny business.  (Laughter.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s — that — that’s business in —

MS. WINFREY:  $5,000 — teeny-tiny business.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It’s a concept of a business.  Right?  (Laughter.)

MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You know where I’m going.  (Laughs.)

MS. WINFREY:  That’s right. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And part of —

MS. WINFREY:  It’s still on paper with the $5,000.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right.  Right.

MS. WINFREY:  It’s still on paper.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It just hasn’t happened.  But —

MS. WINFREY:  Right.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Part of the — to speak to you guys and your family and your dreams — is what we need to do around giving middle-class families tax breaks. 

And so, part of my plan is also to ext- — extend and expand the Child Tax Credit to $6,000, so that you can, in the first year of your child’s life, have the resources to be able to buy a crib and a car seat and — and clothes for your baby, knowing that’s such an extraordinarily important time in their development and you shouldn’t have to worry about how you’re going to take care of their basic needs. 

All of this and more is part of what I plan to build, and I call it an opportunity economy.  And it’s basically about creating opportunities, knowing so many people have the ambition, have the aspirations, are working hard, but just need opportunity to reach their goals and their dreams. 

MS. WINFREY:  I saw you smiling with that $25,000 credit for the home.  I saw that smile on your face —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)

MS. WINFREY: — and the $6,000.  Thank you all so much. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you, guys.

MS. WINFREY:  I want to just introduce you to Shelby, who’s also in our virtual audience.  (Applause.) 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.

MS. WINFREY: Thank you, guys.

     Shelby from Virginia, who’s also struggling with the cost of living.  Tell us your story, Shelby.  Why? 

PARTICIPANT:  (Via teleconference.)  Hi.  Hi, Madam Vice President.  Hi, Oprah. 

I’m 24 years old.  I’m a graduate student living with my parents, and I want to move out next year and potentially buy a home.  And I’m concerned about the affordability of one —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

PARTICIPANT:  — with the extra cost and bills that I’m paying now, along with the bills and costs I will pay in the future too. 

And so, everything just has a cost and everything is so expensive.  And so, I’m worried about my capacity and how I’m able to fully support myself once I do live independently.

MS. WINFREY:  You sound like one of my daughter girls from South Africa.  Graduated — she was like, “I hate adulting.”  (Laughter.)  “I hate adulting.” 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right.

MS. WINFREY:  “This adulting isn’t going so well.”  Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, so par- — first of all, congratulations on all the success you’ve already achieved.  And it is — your story and the story of our friends before you is really — that’s the American story, right?  You — you are working hard, you have goals, you have ambitions. 

And so, part of it is, again, the $25,000 down-payment assistance. 

Part of it is what we need to do to also push back against a very different vision for our country.  Because, look, in this election, there are two very different visions for our country: One, for me, that is focused on the future, including you; and another that is focused on the past. 

What Donald Trump — what my opponent plans on doing for the economy is doing what he did the last time he was president, and giving another tax break for billionaires and the biggest corporations that would add $5 trillion to our deficit.  

And get this.  He plans on what — doing what I call a “Trump sales tax,” which is, basically, he’s going to put a 20 percent tax on everyday necessities that economists have estimated will cost the average American $4,000 more a year — which is why Goldman Sachs, which is why Moody’s, which is why Wharton School of Business, which is why 16 Nobel laureates have collectively determined after analyzing our plans, one, mine would strengthen the economy, his would weaken it; two, that on his plan, he would actually blow up inflation and invite a recession by the middle of next year. 

So, when you think about the cost of living, my approach is about lifting you up.  His would be about actually weakening our economy. 

And I feel very strongly when an individual, when a small business, when a family, when the middle class is strong, America is strong.

MS. WINFREY:  Amen to that.  Amen to that.  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right?

MS. WINFREY:  Thank you, Shelby.  Thank you, Rachael and Garrett. 

So, the Harris campaign kicked off the Fighting for Reproductive Freedom bus tour to support the fundamental right for women to make decisions about our own bodies.  And here is a short tape on that.

(A video is played.)

So, for the millions of you who watched the Democratic National Convention, you will remember Hadley Duvall telling her incredibly powerful story.  And in case you didn’t see it, here’s just a brief look.

(A video is played.)

Hadley is here. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  There’s Hadley.

MS. WINFREY:  Stand up, Hadley.  (Applause.)

     I have to tell you, we are all standing up because we are so impressed by your courage to stand up and share your story. 

Where did that come from, the strength to — to do this? Because I’m sure you thought long and hard before deciding to go public with your story. 

PARTICIPANT:  When Roe v. Wade was overturned —

MS. WINFREY:  Thanks, everybody.

PARTICIPANT:  — I woke up with a harsh reality of my abuse was over but my story is not.  And I just could not fathom thinking about the other Hadleys out there that don’t have that choice, that don’t have somebody to go to.  So, being able to find courage and be the light for them, that’s — that’s really what I do it for.

MS. WINFREY:  And so, what do you want to say to other people who are voting in this election regarding what happened to you and what that means?

PARTICIPANT:  You can’t wait until it’s too late to care about reproductive health care, because then it’s too late.  And when it affects you, it — it hits, and it — you can’t deny it.  You can’t look at someone with a story like mine and say it didn’t happen.  And there are more people like me out there, and there are going to be so many more who deserve their options.  They deserve their choices. 

Let’s get involved.  We have someone who’s willing to hear us at a level like never before.  We have someone who wants to know what we want in this country.  We have someone who wants to lift up our voice, and we need to show out and show up for her, just like she’s showing out and showing up for us.  (Applause.)

MS. WINFREY:  All right.

Is there something wanted to say to Madam Vice President?

PARTICIPANT:  Madam Vice President, I just want to say thank you.  Thank you for seeing us, for hearing us when the Supreme Court won’t.  Thank you for fighting and, you know, really showing us that life is — is not about the hard things that you go through.  You don’t bow down —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

PARTICIPANT:  — even when you’re the underdog — especially when you’re the underdog —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

PARTICIPANT:  — you stand up and you stand tall.  And you give me so much hope and so much strength.  And thank you.  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Aw, Hadley.  Honestly —

MS. WINFREY:  Thank you, Hadley, for coming all this way.  I hope you continue to use your voice.  I hope you continue that. 

This week, the case of a young woman who lost her life after the abortion ban took place in Georgia made national headlines.  Amber’s case came to light through the reporting of journalist Kavitha Surana with Pro- — ProPublica.  And so, listen to her story.

(A video is played.)

Amber’s mother, Shanette, and older sisters C.J. and Andrika are here, and they — are they wanted to be here tonight to speak out for the first time. 

Ms. Shanette, what do you want us to know about Amber’s story?

PARTICIPANT:  Initially, I did not want the public to know my pain.  I wanted to go through it in silence, but I realized that it was selfish. 

I want y’all to know Amber was not a statistic.  She was loved by a family — a strong family, and we would have done whatever to get my baby, our baby, the help that she needed.

When ProPublica came to my home, I pushed them away.  “No.  No.  No.”  But Kavitha, she kept — she was persistent.  She said it was something that you needed to know; you have to hear me: Women around the world, people around the world, need to know that this was preventable. 

Two years later, after speaking with my daughters — because I lost strength; I lost hope — you’re looking at a mother that is broken.  The worst pain ever that a mother, that a parent could ever feel — her father and myself and the family — you’re looking at it.

MS. WINFREY:  Well, we appreciate so deeply you being here.  And I — we’re all watching you hear that tape and those words.  We know how re-traumatizing that is and the strength it takes for you to be here to tell your story, and we deeply appreciate it. 

And I have to ask you, as her sisters, how are you coping?  And what does knowing that this could have been prevented — how does — how does that sit with you?  How do you cope with that on a daily basis?

PARTICIPANT:  I mean, it’s heartbreaking.  You know, that was my baby sister.  I loved my baby sister, you know?  I’m beyond hurt.  I’m disappointed.  I feel guilty.  I wish I could have helped her, you know, because she was suffering. 

And we had no idea.  We trusted them to take care of her, you know?  And they just let her die because — because of some stupid abortion ban.  They treated her like she was just another number.  They didn’t care for her as if, you know, she was their daughter or their, you know, granddaughter. 

MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.

PARTICIPANT:  You know, and she’s not here.  She’ll never come back. 

MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.  Andrika, what do you want to say?

PARTICIPANT:  I want to say that it’s — it’s very disheartening that my sister was allowed to suffer for 20 hours.  She suffered.  There was nothing that we could do to help her.  We trusted the health care professionals to do their job and save her, but they failed her.

MS. WINFREY:  Well, I think the most powerful thing that you’ve said here, Ms. Shanette, is that your daughter is not a statistic.  She had a life.  She was loved by her sisters, loved by her family, loved by those who knew her.  And she’s not just a tis- — statistic.  And we are happy to speak her name tonight.

In — in this room, talking about what this country needs in terms of reproductive rights and freedom, what do you want to say, Madam Vice President?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’m just so sorry.  And the courage that you all have shown is extraordinary, because also you just learned about how it is that she died.  And —

MS. WINFREY:  They just recently learned, yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  How, yeah.

MS. WINFREY:  Yeah, yeah.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And — and Amber’s mom shared with me that the word over and over again in her mind is “preventable.”

MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  “Preventable.”  That word keeps coming to her.

And this story is a story that is, sadly, not the only story of what has been happening since these bans have taken place. 

And, you know, so the — just to step back in terms of how we got here.  The former president chose three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would overdo the protections of Roe v. Wade, and they did as he intended. 

And in state after state, including yours, these abortion bans have been passed that criminalize health care providers.  In a couple of states, prison for life, Oprah — prison for life in a couple of states for a doctor or nurse who provides health care. 

And so, it — it seems very apparent that —

MS. WINFREY:  Even when the — even when the mother’s life is in danger.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But see, here’s the problem with that.  Here’s the problem with that.  So, is she on death’s door before you actually decide to give her help?

MS. WINFREY:  Mm-hmm.  That’s the problem.  (Applause.)  That’s the problem.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Is that what we’re saying?

MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.  That you’ve got to prove —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That —

MS. WINFREY:  — you’re on death’s door.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Like, literally, a doctor or a nurse has to say, “She might die any minute.  Better give her now care, because otherwise I might go to prison for life,” in some cla- — cases. 

Think about what we’re doing in terms of saying that certain people who are in these state houses — and then starting with the former president of the United States — think they’re in a better position than a doctor or a nurse to determine when their patient needs medical care. 

This literally — and — and Amber’s story highlights the fact that among everything that is wrong with these bans and what has happened in terms of the overturning of Wa- — Roe v. Wade, it’s a health care crisis.  It’s a health care crisis that affects the patient and the profession. 

And going back to Hadley’s story — and, Hadley, you’ve been so remarkable —

     PARTICIPANT:  Thank you.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — in telling your story and being so strong in the way you do it.  And both of these stories — really, I mean, the courage for — out of pain, for you to tell these stories to help other people is e- — is just extraordinary.  It’s — and, Hadley, and — and I’m — you just — you’ve been so remarkable.

     You know, I — Oprah, I don’t know if you know this, but when I was in high school, I learned that my best friend was being molested by her stepfather. 

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.  Yes.  We heard that story on the — at the DNC, yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And — and I said to her —

     MS. WINFREY:  And you had the courage then to go to her and say, “You’ve got to come” —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  “You come” — 

     MS. WINFREY:  — “to our house.”

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — “you have to come” — yeah.  And she came to stay with us.  I called my mother, and she came to stay with us. 

     And the idea that these same legislators who would be saying, you know, “criminalize health care providers” are also saying that after a person’s body has been violated, that they have no right to make a decision about what happens to their body next — that’s immoral.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.  (Applause.)  I think it —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s immoral.

     MS. WINFREY:  — it’s not just immoral.  And here’s — here’s what I want to say: I just don’t believe that those legislators, that the government has a right to be in your womb.  They have no right to be in your womb with decisions about your womb.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And one does not have to abandon their faith —

     MS. WINFREY:  Right.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do.  (Applause.) 

     MS. WINFREY:  Absolutely.  Absolutely.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right?  If she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, or her imam, but not the government telling her what’s in her be- — best interest.

     MS. WINFREY:  Well, this is a long healing process for this family, and we thank you, and we hope that by being amongst people who heard you and heard your daughter’s story will be meaningful to you in this journey to healing.  Thank you so much for being here. 

     Okay, I want to also — (applause).  Thank you. 

     I want to hear from Star Walker, who is a campaign engagement organizer in Milwaukee — one of my hometowns, Milwaukee. 

     Hi, Star.  What’s going on in Wisconsin?

     PARTICIPANT:  (Via teleconference.)  Hi, Oprah.  Hi, Madam Vice President.  We are fired up here in Wisconsin.  I’m an engagement organizer, so I’m focused on (inaudible) — (applause) — within their personal networks, as friends, family, teammates.  Yeah, and by empowering people to leverage their relationships, we amplify their voices and deliver progress. 

     We’re fired up, but we also know it’s a razor-thin race.  So, just like in 2020, this is going to be won by a field margin.  It’s on us to roll up our sleeves and do the work.  Let’s make phone calls and knock on doors.  Go to Go.KamalaHarris.com to join this people-powered movement.  That way, when we look back, we won’t just be remembering how we felt, we’ll be remembering what we did. 

Thank you.  (Applause.)

     MS. WINFREY:  Wooo!  I love that.  I love that.  Y’all, I love that.  That’s a big takeaway, because we are feeling really good right now, but it — what really matters is: What are we going to do?

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Absolutely.

     MS. WINFREY:  What are we going to do?

     Thank you so much, Star. 

     I see somebody else on the screen.  Julia Roberts!  Hi, Julia. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, Julia.

     MS. ROBERTS:  (Via teleconference.)  Hi.  Hi.

     MS. WINFREY:  I heard you were so excited; you wanted to be here tonight.  Why?

     MS. ROBERTS:  Well, first of all, Oprah, thank you for hosting this, because, I guess, if I started a voting club, it would be “Conversationalists for Kamala” —

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.  Yes.  (Laughter.) 

     MS. ROBERTS:  — because to — to talk, to — to listen, to be heard, to have this back-and-forth is so unique in this campaign to beautiful, wonderful Kamala Harris, who I have had the good fortune of knowing for many years.

     And I am a mother of two kids.  This is their first chance to vote in an election — (applause) — and I couldn’t be more excited for them to have the legacy to say that their first vote they ever cast for president was for you.  I have just chills saying that out loud.

     MS. WINFREY:  Are you all going to the polls together?  Are you organizing a party?  Are the Moders —

     MS. ROBERTS:  We —

     MS. WINFREY:  — having a poll party?  What’s happening?

     MS. ROBERTS:  (Laughs.)  I wish we were all going together.  In fact, you know, they are in college, so we will be separated on the great day.  But — but in spirit, united always for what we believe in and what we —

     You know, I feel like it’s interesting.  We talk so much about being Americans united for something, but this has become such a global representation of our country and what we stand for.  And I get to travel internationally a lot, and I want people to say, “Oh, you’re American” and not “Oh.  Huh.  How’s it going over there?”  (Laughter.)  You know? 

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

     MS. ROBERTS:  So, I want to get back to that space.  (Applause.)

     MS. WINFREY:  Exactly. 

     MS. ROBERTS:  And I — and I just —

     MS. WINFREY:  Thank you, Julia.  Exactly.  Thank you.

     And, hey, there’s Tracee Ellis Ross coming up there. 

     Tracee, we sh- — now, listen —

     MS. ROSS:  (Via teleconference.)  Hi.

     MS. WINFREY:  If anybody should have a voting party, I think it should be at your house, because you have great parties, girl.  (Laughter.)

     MS. ROSS:  I just want to say hi.  Hello, Madam Vice President.  It — Ma- — Ma- — it’s just an honor.  I actually have never met you —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I know.

     MS. ROSS:  — which is — which is crazy.  And hi, Oprah.  (Laughter.)

     I am here because — wait, what did I miss?

     MS. WINFREY:  You go — she go- — we just saw each other the other day.  Okay.  (Laughter.) 

     Oh, hi, Tracee.  Hi.

     MS. ROSS:  We did.  Hi, Oprah.  How are you doing?

     MS. WINFREY:  Good.  (Laughs.)  Yeah.

     MS. ROSS:  Okay.

     MS. WINFREY:  This is exciting, though, isn’t it?  Isn’t it exciting?

     MS. ROSS:  It’s exciting.  It’s exciting because I believe in democracy.  I believe in the future of our country, in reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy, women leading.  I believe in decency.  The idea of leading with joy and kindness has always been in my DNA.  And I’m here both for the seriousness of this election but the joy with which it is being handled.  It is stunning. 

     And then, I — I also really want to remind everybody — it hasn’t been mentioned — but voting up and down the ballot — (applause) — is incredibly important.  Your freedom and your daily life are — are all the way up and down that ballot.  People are policies, and we need the right people in all areas —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

     MS. ROSS:  — all — all positions. 

     And then, I would like to say to you two women: Thank you for what you represent, because as a 52-year-old childless woman, I want to say to the people who think that a woman’s worth is measured in her baby count — I mean, shout out to all the amazing mothers — but the childless women have been mothering the world and elevating culture — (applause) — as aunties, godmothers, teachers, mentors, sisters, and friends and the list go- — goes on, and you do not need to push out a baby to help push humanity forward. 

     MS. WINFREY:  Amen to that.  Thank you so much.  Tracee Ellis Ross.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much. 

     So, another important issue of this election is, of course, our safety.  And just two weeks ago, our country experienced yet another horrific school shooting.  Watch this.

     (A video is played.)

     We live in a country where 383,000 children have been exposed to gun violence.  Now just sit with that number for a second.  It’s a number until it’s your child. 

     This is not normal, y’all. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     MS. WINFREY:  This is not normal, and this is not right.  Other people in other countries do not have this issue.  We — Americans, we have to do better.  We have to do better.  (Applause.)  We cannot continue to just settle for your “our thoughts and prayers.”  Lives are being destroyed. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

     MS. WINFREY:  Fifteen-year-old Natalie Griffith and her parents, Doug and Marilda, are here.  And, Natalie, we are so sorry to know that you, too, have been added to that number because you were in algebra class when you were shot twice by a 14-year-old fellow student. 

     We’re so glad that you lived to tell your story.  And so, how are you tonight?

     PARTICIPANT:  Well, before that thing — the video, I was ver- — I was very happy.  I still am very happy to be here and to — and to tell my story and what hap- — and what happened, because it was a terrible thing, and it should — and it should not have — what’s it called —

     PARTICIPANT:  Never happened.

     MS. WINFREY:  Where were you shot?  Where were you physically shot?

     PARTICIPANT:  I was right here on my shoulder, and then around here, right —

     PARTICIPANT:  Her wrist.

     PARTICIPANT:  — around my wrist.

     MS. WINFREY:  I was saying that 383,000 students in our country, the United States of America, have been — been exposed to violence — that same scene that you experienced in your school.  Had you all been having, you know, drills or preparation —

     PARTICIPANT:  Yes.

     MS. WINFREY:  — for what should happen should there be a shooting?

     PARTICIPANT:  We have — I’ve had intruder drills and fire drills and stuff in my old schools.  We had — we have had a fire drill at Apalachee, but it was the first two months of — of the school year.  We hadn’t had an — had an intruder drill yet. 

     So, we didn’t even — we weren’t even completely sure where to go in the classroom.  We all just — I remember being like huddled and (inaudible).

     MS. WINFREY:  So, I was watching your mother, even just when that tape was coming on.  It’s still very much PTSD, very much traumatic.  You’re still reliving it.  And how has it been for you?  How did you — how were you notified that there was a shooting at the school?

     PARTICIPANT:  I was notified by a friend.  She called me.  I was at work, and she called me, and she said, “Do you know about the shooting?”  Which — with the school that she goes to, the Apalachee.  I said, “No, I don’t.”  And then she said, “There was a shooter at the Apalachee High School.”  My dr- — my heart just dropped.  In my heart, it just got so heavy, and I could not stop — I just like — I had to leave. 

     I told my coworkers, “I got to go.  I have to leave.”  And my first thing I did is drop my knee on the floor and just start praying.  I prayed for about 30 minutes from my — from my work on the way to the s- — I didn’t get to get to the school on my car.  I had to leave my car at a gas station about two — maybe two and a half, three miles, and I walk on foot. 

     And I ran because my heart was so heavy, I could not get — I couldn’t get in touch with my daughter.

     MS. WINFREY:  And I hear you have a message for people in power regarding guns now. 

     PARTICIPANT:  I do.  I want to finish that story, because no parent should go through this.  I want to just finish what —

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes, go ahead.

     PARTICIPANT:  — you know, the whole — the experience — you do not know what feels until it’s you. 

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

     PARTICIPANT:  You know, all those numbers that you show on the TV —

MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

PARTICIPANT:  — you know, a lot of people that are here are mothers.  You know, what are we doing about this?  What are we doing?  Let’s make sure that everybody listens.  Let’s make sure that everybody hears it.  The whole world needs to hear that we women that have our children, we have a job.  That job is to protect our children.  That job is to protect our nation.  That job is to protect our country.  (Applause.)  

     We cannot let — we cannot leave — we cannot let that go on.  We have to stop it. 

     You know, where — I was asking earlier, where are those people (inaudible) the shooting?  Where are they?  They needed to make a noise.  I’m ready to make a noise about this, and I’m ready to stop it.  Because no one — no one knows what feels when you can’t find your child.  When you call her and you call her and she’s not answering. 

     When I went through it, you know, it’s just me that knows it.  And I’m sure — I’m so sorry for those that lost — their — their children actually died.  I can actually hug my child.  My child is here.  And I gave all these praise to my — the Lord, our Father in Heaven saved my child.  You know, but the other two mothers there lost their kids, and there are the teachers that died. 

     You know, those people are suffering like I’m suffering.  I’m very sorry for them.  I’m very sorry that they lost the pe- — their loved ones.

     MS. WINFREY:  And you have a message for the people in power.

     PARTICIPANT:  Yes, the people in power: Let’s make it a change.  Let’s make happen.  Let’s make — you know, let’s just not hear about this.  Who wants to just hear about this?  (Applause.)  We got to change it.  We got to make it happen.  You know?

     MS. WINFREY:  And, Doug — Doug, I hear you’re not a registered Democrat, but you now say it doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you’re on when it comes to this issue.  What change do you want to see now that it has affected your family?

     PARTICIPANT:  You know, common sense.  You know, I think a first step would just be metal detectors in schools — you know, make a budget, make a plan.  And — and the people that say, “Well, we’ve never really done stuff like that before.”  I don’t care.  You know, they didn’t have metal detectors at airports at one time.  You know, they didn’t have metal detectors at courthouses. 

     They — you know, I think that if a child knew that he would — would get caught that the likelihood of him trying would be — they may — there may be another target, but it wouldn’t be us having to worry about schools being hardened.  Or, you know —

     MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.  Yeah.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  I mean, I think that Doug has said it so eloquently, which is, we just need to apply common sense.  And, look, I think for far too long on the issue of gun violence, some people have been pushing a really false choice to suggest you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away. 

     I’m in favor of the Second Amendment, and I’m in favor of assault weapons bans — (applause) — universal background checks, red flag laws.  And these are just common sense.  These are just common sense.

     MS. WINFREY:  I thought it was so powerful at the convention when you s- — when — when you said you have guns — no, at the debate.  At the debate when you s- —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’m a gun owner.  Tim Walz is a gun owner.

     MS. WINFREY:  I did not know that.  (Laughter.)

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And if somebody breaks into my house —

     MS. WINFREY:  And I thought that was powerful.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — they’re getting shot.  (Laughs.)  I’m sorry.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.  Yes.  I — I hear that.  I hear that.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Probably should not have said that.  (Laughter.) 

     MS. WINFREY:  But I —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  My staff will deal with that later.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.  (Laughter.)

     But you have been a gun ow- — gun owner for a while.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes, I have.

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But — but here’s — here’s my point, Oprah, is that I’m not trying to take everyone’s guns away.  I believe in the Second Amendment. 

     But we have to agree that — look, I — I did, last fall, a — a college tour with college-age young people.  So, I also did trade schools.  And packed audience every time in their auditorium, and I would ask, “Please raise your hand if at any point between kindergarten and 12th grade, you had to endure an active shooter drill.”  Almost every hand went up.  It was bone-chilling. 

     MS. WINFREY:  Yeah.  This is the way our kids —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It’s bone-chilling. 

     MS. WINFREY:  — are living.  Yeah.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And think about it.  You know, I grew up — we had fire drills only — well, I grew up in California, we also had earthquake drills. 

     But the fact that our children are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential and exploring the wonders of the world, and some part of their brain realizes somebody could bust through that classroom drawer — door with a — with a weapon — with an assault weapon. 

     And — and let’s all agree that the — the trauma so many children, even those who have not directly experienced the tragedy —

     MS. WINFREY:  Just being in the environment. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I —

     MS. WINFREY:  Just being in the environment.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I cannot tell you the number of young people who — I mean, our kids had active shooter drills — that — that they’re concerned that there might be somebody who would kill them while they are at school.  This is not the sign of a civil society.

     MS. WINFREY:  It is not.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we — it doesn’t have to be this way. 

     MS. WINFREY:  It doesn’t have to —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It does not have to be this way. 

     MS. WINFREY:  — be this way.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But we need to have the courage to act.  I mean, look, my opponent, when he was told and — and knew about a — a shooting of a young girl, you know what he said?  “Get over it.”  “Get over it.”  No, we’re not getting over it.  No. 

     And — and to the point, everyone should have a sense of collective responsibility for the children of our community —

     MS. WINFREY:  Yes.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and understand their right to live and be safe. 

     I have personally prosecuted homicide cases.  I know — I’ve — autopsies.  I’ve seen autopsies.  I’ve seen what these weapons do to the human body.  And we’ve got to agree that, in particular, when we’re talking about something like an assault weapon, it’s literally designed to be a tool of war.  It has no place on the streets of a civil society.  (Applause.)  It’s designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly. 

     And there are things we can do.  I mean, thankfully, over the last three years —

     MS. WINFREY:  Gosh, it just seems like —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we’ve done some.

     MS. WINFREY:  — common sense.  It seems like —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But it is common sense.

     MS. WINFREY:  It just seems like common sense.  We would see this.  We would see this. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I think so.

     MS. WINFREY:  And I think that the majority of Americans agree with you —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.
    
     MS. WINFREY:  — that we do not want assault weapons in the hands of children and other people who have no business with those types of weapons.  (Applause.)

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right.  Right.

     MS. WINFREY:  We know this is true.  So, we thank you, Natalie, and your family, for being here. 

     PARTICIPANT:  Thank you for —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

     MS. WINFREY:  And good luck in that marching band this year.  I hear you’re going to go out for the marching band still.

     PARTICIPANT:  Thank you for inviting us. 

MS. WINFREY:  Thank you.

PARTICIPANT:  It’s — it’s — we are — unfortunately, it’s a sad moment for us, but I wanted to make sure that, you know, we came because we needed to be heard and we needed to — you know, change has to be made.  It — and we ready to fight for this.

     MS. WINFREY:  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

     Okay.  We want to hear what’s going on in another battleground state.  Tracey is a regional organizing director in Nevada. 

     Tracey, tell us how things are going for you.  Hi.

     PARTICIPANT:  (Via teleconference.)  Hi, everybody.  I’m Tracey Ly, a regional organizing director in Nevada.  I’m in the Silver State this year because there’s so much on the line.  From health care to lowering costs, these inch- — these issues impact all of us. 

     My team and I have been building relationships with voters across this state, because, here in Nevada, we know that enthusiasm alone does not win campaigns; organizing does.

So, all of you watching tonight can become organizers.  Whether you talk to your sister, a roommate, or a grandparent about why you’re so excited to vote for Vice President Harris, you are organizing and energizing other supporters. 

So, please go to Go.KamalaHarris.com to find ways to help.  And enjoy the rest of tonight’s event, and let’s get to work.

MS. WINFREY:  Let’s get to work.  Let’s do something.  (Applause.)

Meryl Streep, hello.  You and I — hi, Meryl Streep.  (Applause.)

MS. STREEP:  (Via teleconference.)  Hi.  (Laughs.)

MS. WINFREY:  You and I have talked about this moment.

MS. STREEP:  Hi, hi, hi.

MS. WINFREY:  How are you feeling?  How are you feeling about the momentum?

MS. STREEP:  Oh, man.  This — this has been overwhelming to have the privilege to sit in and — and listen to the testimony of the people here. 

Hello, President Harris — oh.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Not yet.

MS. STREEP:  (Inaudible.)  (Laughter and applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Forty-seven days.

MS. WINFREY:  Forty-seven days, yes.

MS. STREEP:  (Laughs.)  From my mouth to God’s ear.  (Laughter.)

And hello, Oprah. 

I think the word of the day has been “preventable.”  Preventable.  All of this, the surround of hatred and —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MS. STREEP:  — and venom and toxicity and encouraging some segment of Americans to hate other segment of Americans —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     MS. STREEP:  — it’s just crazy, and nobody wants it.  We’re done. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

MS. STREEP:  We’re done with it. 

I’m just — I wanted to ask you — (laughs) — I can’t believe I have this opportunity.  (Laughter.)  I probably never will again.  (Laughter.) 

If — I have a little Debbie Downer moment, because, actually, I think you’re going to win.  I’m sure you’re going to win.  I think — (applause) — yeah.  But what happens when you win —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MS. STREEP:  — and he doesn’t accept it?  And you know that there’s going to be this long slog of shenanigans.  And I’m wondering wh- — how we get to that moment, how we preserve certification on January 6th?  Because if it doesn’t happen, it’ll be maybe thrown back to the legislatures of the states. 

And I’ve been — I’ve been working with State Government Citizens’ Campaign, which is SGC[C]America.com, so — they’re — they’re a great — they’re doing the — the unglamorous, down-ballot work of promoting those — those candidates.  Because we really — I’m worried about it.  And I wonder — I wonder if we’re ready for January 7th, 8th, 9th, and what happens.  What happens?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, we will be ready.  But just taking a step back and — and thank you, Meryl, for your — just the gift that you give: you — you are a — you — your talent and your creativity.  Thank you for being here. 

One of the things that I have realized in the course of our campaign is that more Americans than we may realize who voted for Trump before have decided January 6th was just a bridge too far.  It — when we reflect and think about what January 6th was, where the president of the United States, sitting in the Oval Office, incited a mob, a violent mob, to attack the United States Capitol, such that 140 law enforcement officers were injured — some were killed — to — to try and upend a free and fair election where the American people voted — that was a bridge too far for a lot of people. 

And we have sadly now seen how far he could go.  And I think there is absolutely no tolerance whatsoever for the vast majority of Americans for that.  And they’ve seen the lies. 

They understand, for example, almost every court case — I think every court case where he’s challenged an election he lost.  I said on the debate stage, look, because he’s having a very difficult time, obviously, processing the fact that 81 million people fired him.  (Applause.)  Right?

But — so, there is that: that it really was a bridge too far for so many people that they are not willing to repeat.  But the other piece of it is the lawyers are working.  The — it’s very important that we all speak to our friends and our neighbors about misinformation and help them now see how it occurs, where it is occurring.  It is important that we stand up for the integrity of poll workers and people who are working on Election Day. 

And — and that we also — and this is critically important, that we ask people to be alert about mis- and disinformation, and we ask them, “Do not be afraid to vote.”  Because I think there is also something quite insidious about these attacks on the electorate in these various forms that are intended to convince people that their vote won’t matter.  And, in that way, there’s a little bit of reverse psychology going on here, and let’s — let’s just make sure nobody falls for it. 

Your vote does matter, and we cannot let anyone ever take our power from us.  We can never let anybody silence us.  (Applause.) 

And when we get those votes out, starting soon — early voting is already going to start this week, I think — through November 5th.  And let’s make sure everyone votes.  And we are going to have a good Election Day.  We’re going to fight for the integrity of the people’s voice and for our democracy. 

And, you know, I’ll just mention.  Earlier, a couple of folks talked about what this means in terms of the world.  You know, Oprah, as — as vice president, I have — I’ve met over 150 world leaders: presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, and kings.  And the thing about representing the United States of the America is when we walk in those rooms around the world, we have historically and traditionally been able to walk in those rooms chin up, shoulders back, with the self-appointed and earned authority to talk about the importance of democracies.

People around the world are watching right now.  Because, you see, the thing about walking into a room and being a role model is people watch what you do to see if it lines up with what you say. 

And, in that way, the consequences of this election are directly going to impact the American people and people around the world.  That’s what we’re fighting for and those are the stakes. 

And that’s why we’re going to win, because we know what we’re fighting for.  We — because we know what we stand for.  (Applause.)

MS. WINFREY:  Thank you, Meryl.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MS. WINFREY:  So — thank you, Meryl.

What is on your heart to say to the American people, as we have 47 days until November 5th?  What’s on your heart —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We —

MS. WINFREY:  — to say to particularly those people who are still undecided or maybe indifferent or on the fence still?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We love our country.  I love our country.  I know we all do.  That’s why everybody is here right now.  We love our country.  We — we take pride in the privilege of being American.

And this is a moment where we can and must come together as Americans, understanding we have so much more in common than what separates us.  Let’s come together with the — the character that we are so proud of about who we are, which is we are an optimistic people.  We are an optimistic people. 

Americans, by character, are people who have dreams and ambitions and aspirations.  We believe in what is possible.  We believe in what can be.  And we believe in fighting for that. 

That’s how — that’s how we came into being, because the people before us understood that one of the greatest expressions for the love of our country, one of the greatest expressions of patriotism, is to fight for the ideals of who we are, which includes freedom to make decisions about your own body; freedom to be safe from gun violence; freedom to have access to the ballot box; freedom to be who you are and just be, to love who you love openly and with pride; freedom to just be.  And that’s who we are.  We believe in all that. 

And so, this is a moment where we stand, knowing what we are fighting for.  We’re not fighting against.  It’s what we’re fighting for. 

MS. WINFREY:  Thank you.  Thank you.  Madam Vice President.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

And I want to say — (applause) — thank you, Madam Vice President.  I also want to say: Thank you, Jotaka.  (Applause.) 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Jotaka.

MS. WINFREY:  Thank you, Jotaka Eaddy and the Win With Black Women, who started the gatherings on Zoom and all of the grassroots.

Now each of you listening tonight, you become your own grassroots organization to go forward and do something, coming together for the largest Zoom call we’ve all ever had. 

Thank you so much.  (Applause.)

And I just want to say — I just want to say, for all of you watching who are still on the fence — you’re in the middle; you’re independent, as I am — or whether you’re — just still don’t know what you’re going to do: This is the moment for all decent people, all caring people who want the best for yourself and you want the best for other people.  This is the moment for people who are tired of all of the bickering and all of the name-calling; people who are exhausted by the craziness —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MS. WINFREY:  — and the made-up stories and the conspiracies.  This is the moment.  You want to get on with your life, because you know that we can do better and that we deserve better. 

You know this.  I know you know this.  I know you feel this.  I know this is what you’re saying amongst yourselves.  It’s in all the conversations that we’re having, that you’re having. 

And we’re better than this.  We’re better.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We’re better than this.

MS. WINFREY:  We’re better. 

And we want to create a world where our children will be safe in school again.  And as my friend and mentor Maya Angelou always said, “When you know better, you got to —

AUDIENCE:  Do better.

MS. WINFREY:  — do better.”  Thank you.

So, let’s do better and vote for Kamala Harris.  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Oprah.

MS. WINFREY:  Thank you to all of our special guests.  Thank you for sharing your stories, for being here — Ms. Shanette.  (Applause.)

Vice President Harris, we thank you.  We hope you keep fighting for us —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I will.

MS. WINFREY:  — and the country we deserve to have. 

Thank you so much.  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Oprah.

MS. WINFREY:  To find out more about how you can register or where you can vote, go to IWillVote.com. 

Good night, everybody. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good night.

MS. WINFREY:  Thank you on Zoom.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

END                 9:33 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Moderated Conversation with Oprah Winfrey at a Unite for America 2024 Event appeared first on The White House.

Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Washington, D.C.

8:33 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello!  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you, Joe!  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Can you hear me — can you hear me in that other county about eight miles away?  (Applause.)

God love you all.  Please have a seat, if you have one.  (Laughter.)  Even if you don’t, take somebody else’s.  (Applause.)

Thank you!

Adriano, thank you for that introduction. 

And thank you to our great partners in Congress — Pete and Katherine, the Chair and Whip of the House Democratic Caucus; Nanette and all of the incredible members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

And a special thanks to the two incredible CHC members who are retiring, Tony and Grace.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Please have a seat if you have one.

You guys don’t have a seat, huh?  (Laughter.)  Oh, man.  Well, the speech is only an hour and 20 minutes long.  (Laughter.)  I just listened to a Trump speech, so — (laughter). 

And thank you to everyone at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute for inspiring and empowering the next generation of leaders.

Think about it: One in four public school students are American — in America are Latino.  (Applause.)  Your future — your future is their future, and their future is the future of America.

Ladies and gentlemen, you embody the very idea of America — the idea that we all are created equal, deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.

We’ve never fully lived up to that, but we’ve never walked away from it, either, because the leaders like all of you in this room.

We’re a nation of immigrants, a nation of dreamers, a nation of freedom.  (Applause.)

Let me start by saying it’s yet another time for an important conversation.  Our politics have gotten too heated.  I’ve made clear we all have a responsibility to lower the temperature.  We must firmly reject political violence.  And if we’re going to talk about standing against violence, we have to start by standing against all violence, by standing against the violence perpetrated against the former president in Pennsylvania and Florida. 

But we also must stand against the violence that occurred in El Paso, Texas — the deadliest attack against Latinos in modern history.  (Applause.)  We have to stand against the violence in Uvalde, Texas. 

I spent a lot of time down there afterwards.  Jill and I went there to spend hours with the families.

If you’re going to be outspoken on one act of violence, don’t be silent on the other.  (Applause.)

If we’re go- — if we’re going to speak about violence, we’re going to speak about guns.

More children in America die from gunshot wounds than any other reason in American history.  Sheer cowardice to do nothing about it — it’s sheer cowardice.

So, if you stand against violence in America, then join me in getting the weapons of war off their streets.  (Applause.)

The AR-15 style weapons used to shoot Donald Trump, but just was used to kill so many others, including children. 

It’s time to outlaw assault weapons, period.  I did it once, and we should do it again.  (Applause.)

If you want to stand against violence in America, let’s start by denouncing the violence of January the 6th.  (Applause.)  Stop saying you’re going to pardon insurrectionists.  Start admitting their loss of the 2020 election and commit to accepting the results, which you haven’t done yet, of the 2024 election.

Look, you want to lower the temperature, you got to stop saying immigrants are poisoning the blood of America.  They are the blood of America.  They are the blood of America.  (Applause.)

And you stop calling immigrants “animals” and “rapists” and “murderers.”  You can stop spreading lies and hate, demonizing Haitian communities in Ohio.  You can stop by — blaming every other American in America.

Look, folks, you can start to understand our nation is enriched, protected, and strengthened by immigrants.  Kamala and I and all of you understand that better than the other team even begins to understand it.

Look — look at what we’ve achieved together.  I signed into executive order to allow the spouse of American citizens who’ve been here for 10 years or more to apply to get their green card right here in America, in the United States.  (Applause.)  You still have to fill out the paperwork and pass a strict background — just most importantly, you can keep your family here in America while you’re doing that.

The average person who would benefit from our action has been living in the United States for 20 years.  Their children were born here.  America is their home.

Friends, this is a big deal.  It’s the most important — positive, important immigration action since Obama announced DACA when I was vice president.

But as usual, MAGA Republicans oppose it.  Governors have gone to court to block it.  We’re going to continue to defend it.  Together, we will not give up.  (Applause.)

I also announced an executive action that speeds up work visas to help people, including DREAMers who graduated from U.S. colleges, to land jobs in high-demand, high-skilled professions.

My administration is also expanding access to legal representation and resources for people seeking legal status.  We’re working with all of you to ensure folks can have access to these services, just as we work together to fix our broken immigration system.  We must do it.

I took executive action to secure the border.  It’s working.  Border encounters have dropped over 50 percent.  Let me be clear: People can still receive asylum by making an appointment to arrive at a legal post of entry, and they are.  But let me be clear: There is no substitute for comprehensive immigration reform — none.  (Applause.)

Our politics once had a proud bipartisan tradition on immigrants — on immigration.  More recently, things have gotten worse.  Every time we got close, MAGA Republicans blocked it to make it a campaign issue.  They’d rather weaponize the problem than solve it.

As president, the first bill I sent to Congress when I got elected was a comprehensive immigration reform, after working with all of you.  I’ll work with anyone to get it done.

The Statue of Liberty is not a relic of American history.  It stands for who we are.  That’s who we are.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  And that’s what Kamala and I have stood for all across the board.

Look — look how far we’ve come the past four years.

Together, COVID no longer controls our lives.  Our economy is literally the strongest in the world.  Historic-low Latino unemployment.  Record growth in Latino small businesses.  Latino wealth has grown by 50 percent.  There’s more to do.  But we put checks in pockets that cut Latino child poverty in half.  We increased childcare subsidy funding by 50 percent, providing families with peace of mind and still growing the economy.

We’re turning around Puerto Rico’s economy, investing more than $140 billion and adding 100,000 new jobs in Puerto Rico.  (Applause.)

And the racial wealth gap in America is at its lowest level in 20 years.  Inflation is down and continues to go down.  And Kamala and I keep taking on corporate greed to bring down prices.

Meanwhile, Trump wants a new tax on imported foods, goods, glass — gas, clothing, and so much more.  And as experts point out, it will cost the average family another $4,000 a year in taxes — $4,000.

We’ve doubled Latino enrollment in affordable health care, expanded coverage for DREAMers.

My predecessor — he says he wants to terminate — terminate it, which would cost 45 million people their health insurance, including millions of Latinos.  He has a big idea, though.  He says he has a “concept of a plan.”  (Laughter.)  That — “concept of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act after trying to defeat it 50 times.  He doesn’t have any idea what the hell he’s doing except trying to get rid of it.

We’re putting homeownership within reach to build generational wealth, allowing Latinos to build equity in a home and generate wealth, as my family, a middle-class family, did.

We’re going to bring down rents, including my calling on Congress to cap rent increases at 5 percent a year so corporate landlords can’t jack it up 20 and 30 percent anymore.  (Applause.)

We’re delivering affordable high-speed broadband so no child has to do their homework outside a McDonald’s — in a McDonald’s parking lot. 

We’re removing poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without fear of brain damage. 

We’re making the most significant investment in climate ever, including the most significant investment in climate justice ever.  That includes proposing the first — the nation’s first-ever federal heat safety standard to protect 36 million workers from extreme heat on the job, many of them Latino workers.  (Applause.)

I’m also relieving student debt for nearly 5 million borrowers, many of whom are Latinos.  (Applause.)  And I’ve not stopped yet.  The courts are not going to win this. 

And we’re investing over $15 billion — the largest investment in history — in Hispanic-Serving Institutions.  (Applause.)  That’s a fact.  $15 billion. 

We also announced the first-ever White House Initiative and President’s Board of Advisers for Hispanic-Serving Institutions to Advance Equity, Excellence, and Opportunity.  (Applause.)

And to support more DREAMers in going to college, we’re proposing expanding the Federal TRIO Program to provide DREAMers with critical college access services like counseling and tutoring. 

I could go on, but the point is simple: Together, we’re making the most significant investment in Latino communities ever, ever, ever, because of you.  And my administration, along with CHC, has been on the road to communities across the country to share the good news.  But there’s more we have to get done.

We must pass the John Lewis Voting Right Act — (applause) — and the Freedom to Vote Act — (applause); stop the intimidation of Hispanic voters in Texas and elsewhere — (applause); and let’s defend your freedom to choose, restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land — (applause) — and pass comprehensive immigration reform.  (Applause.)

We’re not only going to stop extreme MAGA Republicans from cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, we’ll expand and strengthen it.  These programs are making the wealthy begin to pay their share, if we do it the right way.  They don’t pay anywhere near the percentage what everybody else pays.

We’ve capped the cost of insulin for seniors at $35 a month, instead of an average of $400 a month.  And starting in January, we’re capping total drug costs for seniors at $2,000 a year, even for expensive drugs like cancer costs of $10-, $12-, to $14[,000] a year.  We’re going to continue to fight to do that for every single American.

By the way, our reforms not only save lives; they’re saving the average taxpayer $160 billion because Medicare no longer has to pay exorbitant prices to Big Pharma.  (Applause.)

There’s so much more.  But all of this progress is in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s devastating record of th- — for the Latino community. 

His mismanagement of the pandemic devastated the Latino community.  Trump is a failed businessman who drove up Latino unemployment and decimated Latino small businesses.  And his attacks on legal immigration betr- — betray what we stand for as a nation.  He separated families at the border, ripping children from their parents.  He banned people based on their faith. 

And now Trump and extreme MAGA officials have an agenda, something they call, as you all know, Project 2025.  At the top of the list, and he means it, is the deportation of over 11 million people. 

They say they would use local police, the National Guard, and even the United States military to round up — round up and rip away millions of people from their homes, families, and communities.  Think about that.  Mass detention camps that will tear our country apart and damage our international relations and devastate — devastate our economy. 

And as outrageous as it sounds, he wants to take away birthright citizenship: If you’re born here, it doesn’t mean you’re automatically an America citizen.  That cannot happen.  (Applause.)

What the hell is the matter with this guy?  (Laughter.)

One of the reasons why our economy is the strongest in the world is we’ve rejected xenophobia of my predecessor and leaders like him around the world.  We cannot go down that road. 

But that’s where he wants to go: attacking voting rights, banning choice nationwide — already eliminated affirmative action.  They would also decimate diversity, equity, and inclusion across American life — banning books, erasing history. 

You’re making history, not erasing history.  (Applause.)

Folks, diversity is the strength of this nation.  It really is.

That’s why I’ve kept my commitment to have the most diverse administration in American history that taps into the full talents of our nation — (applause) — including Hispanic Americans at every level of my administration, like our incredible Cabinet members who are here tonight: Secretary — Education Secretary Cardona — (applause); Small Business — Small Business Administrator Guzman.  (Applause.)

Together, we make history.  And let’s finally honor the history of building the National Museum for Latino Americans on the Mall — (applause) — I mean it — as well as the American Women’s History Museum on the National Mall.

Folks, look, let me close with this.  Jill and my ancestors were immigrants as well, years and years ago — Italian — Italy and Ireland.  They came with very little but their family and their faith.  And they were criticized because many of them were Catholics and weren’t allowed to work — were decimated in places like Scranton, Pennsylvania — where I’m from — in the coal mines.

My family Bible, the saf- — same Bible we — my ancestors brought across the ocean sits on my table in my Oval Office.  And across the room, I placed another powerful symbol for me, and from the very beginning: the bust of Cesar Chavez.  (Applause.)  He inspired me when I first ran as a 29-year-old kid in Delaware.  He was — organizing in Delaware. 

My dad taught me early on about the dignity of work and the dignity of all people, like the s- — like the six Latino construction workers who died when the bridge collapsed in Baltimore Harbor.  I met and prayed with their families.  They were literally building a bridge to the American dream. 

That’s the American story — the Latino American story.  (Applause.)

Cesar Chavez’s partner in the fight for dignity of work, Dolores Huerta said, “Every” — she once said, “Every minute is a chance to change the world.”

I look at all of you and I see a nation of dreamers and doers who are literally changing the world, and that’s not hyperbole.  You’re the reason I’ve never been more optimistic, and I give you my word of that.  We just have to remember who we are.

Ladies and gentlemen, 25 of every 100 high school students and grade school students in America are Latino — 25 percent.  (Applause.)  You are the future.  You are the history.  You will make the history.  I mean that sincerely.  Think about it: 25 out of every 100 students in our schools are Latino. 

We have to remember who we are.  We’re a nation of immigrants.  That’s why we’re strong. 

We’re the United States of America, and there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we decide to do something.  We’re the only nation in the world that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went in.

Now, with the leadership of the Latino community, it’s going to happen again.

God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  (Applause.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

You’re the best.  Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you.

Remember who you are.  Every time I’d walk out of my Grandfather Finnegan’s house in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he’d yell, “Joey, keep the faith.”  And my grandmother would yell, “No, Joey.  Spread it.”  Let’s spread the faith.  Spread it.  (Applause.)

8:52 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 47th Annual Awards Gala appeared first on The White House.

1:15 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)  Thank you, David.  In my household, we refer to David as the Washington Monument.  (Laughter.)  He’s been a friend a long time — a long time.  And not only thank you for the introduction, David, but thank you for your friendship. 

And thank you all for being here and allowing me to be here. 

Yesterday was an important day for the county, in my view.  Two and a half years after the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates, it announced that it would begin lowering interest rates.

I think it’s good news for consumers, and it means the cost of buying a home, a car, and so much more will be going down.  And it’s good news, in my view, for the overall economy, because lower borrowing costs will support economic growth. 

And it’s an important signal from the Fed- — from the Federal Reserve to the nation that after repeated interest hikes to cool down inflation, inflation has come back down, and the Fed — the Fed is lowering — switched to lowering rates to keep the country growing — the economy growing.

At its peak, as you all know, inflation was 9.1 percent in the United States.  Today, it is much closer to 2 percent. 

That doesn’t mean our work is done.  Far from it.  Far from it. 

No one should confuse why I am here.  I’m not here to take a victory lap.  I’m not here to say, “A job well done.”  I’m not here to say, “We don’t have a hell of a lot more work to do.”  We do have more work to do. 

But what I am here to speak about is how far we’ve come, how we got here, and, most importantly, the foundation that I believe [we’ve] built for a more prosperous and equitable future in America. 

So, let’s be clear.  The Fed lowering interest rates is- — isn’t a declaration of victory.  It’s a declaration of progress.   It’s a signal we’ve entered a new phase of our economy and our recovery. 

You know, I believe the [it’s] important for the country to recognize this progress, because — because if we don’t, the progress we made will remain locked in the fear of negative mindset and dominate our economic outlook since the pandemic began, instead of seeing the immense opportunities in front of us right now. 

It’s — this is a moment, in my view, for business to feel greater confidence to invest, hire, and to expand.  It’s a moment for individuals to feel greater confidence buying a home, a new car, starting a family, starting a new business.  

We’ve — we’re creating jobs.  [Un]employment remains very low.  Small-business creation is at its historic highs.  The economy is growing.  The main challenge we’ve had — it’s been a painful one but — has been the pandemic and the inflation it created, causing enormous pain and hardship for families all across America.  That’s not true just for us but for every major economy in the world. 

But now — now inflation is coming down in the United States.  And the fact is, it’s come down faster and lower than almost any other [of the] world’s advanced economies. 

So now, instead of looking at interest rates increases, interest rates are going to be coming down, and they’re expected to go down further.  And that’s a good place for us to be.  (Applause.)

Now, a lot of people, as you all know — maybe you know a few — thought we’d never get here.  When Kamala and I came to office, 3,000 people a day were dying of COVID — 3,000 a day.  Millions of Americans had lost their jobs, their businesses.  And the global economy was in a tailspin. 

Four years ago, we inherited the worst pandemic in a century and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.  In fact, my predecessor was one of just a few — two presidents in American history who left office with fewer jobs than the day he came into office.  The other?  Herbert Hoover. 

When I came to office, there was no real plan in place — no plan to deal with the pandemic, no plan to get the economy back on its feet.  Nothing — virtually nothing. 

In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted we wouldn’t — they wouldn’t see a full recovery until well after the end of my first term in office.  But I refused to accept that, like many of you refused to accept it. 

I came into office determined not only to deliver immediate economic relief for the American people but to transform the way our economy works over the long term; to write a new economic playbook, grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not just the top down; put workers first; support unions to make sure workers have a bargaining clout they need to get a fair price to grow that pie — and after all, it’s the productivity that’s — they — they’re the productivity baked into that pie, in my view; no one — leave no one behind; foster fair — fair competition; invest in all of America and in all Americans. 

When we do things for the poor and have — they have a ladder up, the middle class does very well, and the wealthy continue to do very well.  We all do well.  And we are doing well.  Working families and the middle class are the center of the strong, equitable, and sustainable recovery. 

Here are the keys from the new playbook, in my view.  Within the first two months in office, I signed the American Rescue Plan, one of the most significant economic recovery packages in our history.  Not a single person on the other team — Republicans — voted for it. 

It delivered shots in the arm for vaccines to vaccinate the nation in one of the most sophisticated logistical operations in American history.  I found it incredibly difficult to plan that.  Without protecting our nation from COVID, our economic recovery would never have taken off. 

It also delivered immediate economic relief for those who needed it the most.  An individual earning less than $75,000 a year received a $1,400 check.  So, a family of five earning less than $150,000 a year could receive as much as $7,000.  And, by the way, in middle-class families like the one I grew up and many of you grew up in, that is a game changer.  That saved people’s sense of being. 

It also prevented a wave — a wave of evictions, bankruptcies, and delinquencies and defaults that the previous crises weak- — weakened the recovery and left working families permanently further behind.

I was determined to avoid what Secretary Yellen called the “economic scarring” — scarring that hurt so many Americans and left them behind in the past. 

We delivered essential funding to states and local governments to keep essential services moving, to keep teachers and first responders on the job, to keep small businesses open, and to build more housing.  We also expanded the Child Tax Credit to cut child poverty in half. 

And with the Butch Lewis Act, we took the most significant action in 50 years to protect the pensions of millions of union workers and retirees.  Before we acted, workers faced cuts to their pensions.  Now we’re restoring the full amount of their pensions, including for workers who previously saw cuts. 

And there’s so much more. 

But we also know the pandemic led to a surge in inflation all across American and the world — and the country, I should say.  And the economy shut down and then opened back up in an unprecedented manner.  Shipping had stalled.  Factories shut down.  Inflation grew worse after Putin invaded Ukraine, which sent food prices skyrocketing and energy prices soaring around the world. 

So, we immediately brought together business and labor to fix the problem with broken supply chains and unclog our ports, trucking networks, and shipping lines. 

Remember those massive cargo ships stuck outside the port of Loa- — of Los Angeles, delaying deliveries and driving up prices during the holiday season?  Remember that?  Remember the shortage of baby formula and the crisis that caused?  Well, we got supply chains back to normal.  When we did that, inflation began to ease.  Doesn’t solve, but ease.

It also — I also — I also rallied our allies to stand against Putin’s aggression.  In the beginning, there wasn’t a whole lot of support for that.  I warned them all.  I got clearance from the intelligence community to let them know when he was going to invade.  They didn’t believe it was going to happen.  But he invaded exactly when I said he was.  Led the world to realize that we had a real problem.

And it — releasing oil reserves to stabilize global markets to — and, by the way, our gas prices are now down to $3.22, lower than before the invasion — (applause) — and $3 — below $3 a gallon in 14 states, including Delaware.  (Laughter and applause.)  I can go home now, past the gas station.  (Laughter.)

Energy production for all — from all sources is now at record highs in America — record highs. 

And unlike my predecessor, I respect the Federal Reserve’s independence as they pursued — it’s a mandate — to bring inflation down.  That independence has served the country well. 

And, by the way, I’ve never once spoken to the chairman of the Fed since I became president.  It’ll also do enormous damage to our economy if that independence is ever lost. 

You know, my new economic playbook also rejects the long-held conventional view among economists — many economists — that we had to lower our ambitions to bring inflation down. 

After I took action to rescue the economy, we got relief to families that needed it.  Some experts predicted that people would have a — that we would leave the labor market and not come back to work.  They referred to this as “the Great Resignation.”  Remember that?  The Great Resignation.

Well, to state the obvious, they were dead wrong.  We now have the highest working-age employment in decades.  (Applause.)  

Other critics said it would take the loss of millions of Americans’ jobs to — and a decline in real wages and, yes, the recession to get inflation back down.  Possible, but I refused to accept that.  I believed, sometimes over the amazement of my staff, that we should seize the moment to finally invest in all of America and all Americans for decades to come.  We did just that with what I call our Investing in America agenda. 

How can we have the strongest economy in the world without the most advanced infrastructure in the world?  How can that be?

     That’s why I wrote and worked so hard to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the most significant law in generations, to modernize our roads, bridges, ports, airports, trains, buses; removing every lead pipe from schools and homes so every child could drink clean water; providing affordable — (applause) — providing affordable high-speed Internet for every American, no matter where they live, not unlike what Franklin Roosevelt did. 

Remember what he did?  You don’t remember.  You weren’t around, nor — by the way, I wasn’t — (laughter) — I’m old, but I wasn’t there either.  (Laughter.)  But he decided that rural America had to have access to electricity.

The Internet is a — as a — is as critical as electricity was during his period. 

I remember saying that to my younger staff, who looked at me, “Well, what are you talking about?”  (Laughter.)

But look, we’re growing our economy.  We got more to do.  We’re improving our quality of life.  We’re literally building a better America because of all of you.  

In fact, “Buy American” has been the law of the land since the 1930s.  And I have to admit to you, Tommy, the — “Tommy,” excuse me — Congressman Carper, my buddy — (laughter) — I didn’t realize that when they wrote the law in ‘33 about unions organizing, they also had a provision in there: Any money — it says any money the president is sent from the Congress to invest on an investment in America should use American workers and use American products.  Past administrations, including my predecessor, failed to buy American.  Not anymore.      

Kamala and I are making sure the federal projects building American roads, bridges, highways, and so much more beyond that, like aircraft carriers and tanks, they will be made with American products and built by American workers, creating good-paying American jobs. 

How can we be the strongest nation in the world without leading the world in science and technology?  I mean, think about it.  We walked away for a long while in investing in science and technology as a government.   

During the pandemic, the American people learned about supply chains.  You know, I remember going home and saying, “Well, the supply chain.”  And my family, “The supply chain?  What the hell is a supply chain?”  (Laughter.)  No, but I’m serious.  Think about it.  It became common knowledge what a supply — what we’re talking about to all — the average American.

And the shortage of semiconductors, those little tiny computer chips smaller than a tip of your finger that power everything — but every — everyday lives, from smartphones, to automobiles and dishwashers, to advanced weapon systems, and so much more.  Think about it.  It takes over 3,000 chips to build an automobile.  Remember the crisis when we didn’t have access to those in the automobile industry? 

And, by the way, we invented these chips here in America.  And we still design the most sophisticated chips in the world. 

But over time, my predecessors thought it was better to manufacture those chips overseas because the labor was cheaper.  That’s why they went overseas. 

The result: When the pandemic shut down those chip factories overseas, the price of everything went up because we didn’t have enough chips here in America. 

We learned the hard way that one of the best ways to strengthen our supply chi- — our supply chain is to make sure the supply chains starts in America — starts in America.  (Applause.) 

And, by the way, if I could hold in the back there, that’s why I — I have great relationships with the European friends.  But this is one where they go, “Whoa.”  (Laughter.)  That’s why I literally wrote and signed the CHIPS and Science Act, to bring manufacturing back home and so much more. 

As a result, private companies from around the world are now investing tens of billions of dollars to build new chip factories right here in America — in New York, Ohio, Arizona — all across the country.  

You know, it takes time to build these factories.  But the number of construction workers is way up, and they’re making good salaries — already creating tens of thousands of jobs in construction facilities.  But the American public is going, “Well, where’s all this going, Biden?”  Because they haven’t s- — they expected this to happen overnight.  You got to build the factories first.

When these factories are finally built, we’ll have tens of thousands of jobs running those factories — so-called fabs.  As you all know — this is one audience I don’t have to explain it to — they’re — these fabs are bigger than football fields, creating jobs that are going to pay over $100,000 a year, and you don’t need a college degree.

And it’s going to generate such economic growth when the one outs- — in — outside of Columbus, Ohio — a thousand acres.  I call it a field of dreams.

The old playbook was to go abroad to the cheapest labor, export American jobs, and import foreign products.  Our new playbook is we export American products and create American jobs right here in America where they belong.  (Applause.)

But that’s not all.  I wrote and signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate law ever, anywhere in the history of the world.  When I say “I wrote,” I actually did write some of this, my — my daughter would say, “with my own paw.”  (Laughter.) 

Skeptics told me we couldn’t get it done.  Remember?  We couldn’t get this done; there was no possibility of this.  There wasn’t a consensus.  And if we did it, it would be too late and too little.  But we did it with your help: $369 billion for climate and clean energy, more than ever happened in the history of the world.

Not a single one of the opposition — Republican friends — voted for it.  It took Vice President Harris to cast the tiebreaking vote in the Senate. 

The Inflation Reduction Act is going to help cut carbon emissions in half by 2030, and we’re well on the way, including — well, I won’t go into it all — and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs for American workers.  I set up a Climate Corps, just like the Peace Corps; it’s going to — you watch what happens with that.

Lower energy costs for families with tax credits to install rooftop solar and efficient-energy appliances, to weatherize your windows and doors with high-tech insulation, more efficient heating and cooling systems — and get a tax credit for doing it and grow employment and grow the economy — and so much more. 

And, again, many of you are doing — you’re the ones doing it.  You’re creating these good-paying jobs. 

The Inflation Reduction Act also focused on lowering costs for prescription drugs. 

There was a law in America that I fought like hell as a senator — and a lot of others who did for a long, long time — to change the law: The only agency that could not negotiate prices was Medicare.  For years, many other members of Congress fought — for decades — to change that and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, like the VA is able to lower dr- — negotiate drug prices for veterans. 

Well, with the Inflation Reduction Act, we finally beat Big Pharma.  And we finally gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. 

And now — millions of seniors have diabetes, as one example, but now, instead of paying up to $400 a month for that insulin for their diabetes, they’re only paying 35 bucks a month — 35 bucks. 

And they’re still making a hell of a profit, by the way.  You know how much it costs to make that insulin?  Ten dollars.  T-E-N dollars.  Ten dollars.  Package the whole thing, you get up to $13.

And, by the way, if I had Air Force One sitting out there, I could get you in the plane and take you anywhere in the world, any major capital.  Whatever prescription you have, I can get it for you cheaper in Toronto, London, Berlin, Rome — anywhere around the world.

But it’s just beginning.  The same law says that starting this January — we don’t have to cha- — any new changes with the law, the existing law — every senior’s total prescription drug cost will be capped at $2,000 a year, no matter how expensive their drugs are, even expensive cancer drugs that cost 10-, 12-, 14,000 bucks a year. 

And these reforms don’t just save seniors money, but, equally important, they save every American taxpayer money.  Just so far, these reforms will save American taxpayers $160 billion over the next decade because Medicare won’t have to pay — spend (inaudible).  (Applause.)

And, by the way, that weight-loss medicine is just getting going, man, that debate.  (Laughter.)  Watch.

All told, we’re proving that we can bring down inflation while safeguarding hard-won gains in jobs and real wages in American workers. 

Today, a record 16 million jobs created, more than any other single presidential term. 

When I took office, more than 2 million women left the workforce due to the pandemic.  If you listen to these other guys, they think women don’t want to work.  They don’t know women in America.  (Applause.)  No, I’m serious.  Watch.  Watch, watch, watch.

And speaking of watches, on my watch — (laughter) — we reversed the loss.  We actually increased the number of women working by an addition 2 million women in the workforce.  (Applause.)  

And, by the way, we have the highest share of working-age women on jobs since 1948, when we started — and we’re — and we — we started to keep track back then.  With wages up, incomes up for women workers, we’ve always believed women should be paid equally for equal work.  And there’s not a single damn job a woman can’t do that a man can do, including being president of the United States of America.  (Applause.) 

You all think I’m kidding.  My younger sister used to be three years younger than me.  She’s now 20 years younger.  (Laughter.)  Went to the same university, took the same courses.  She graduated with honors; I graduated.  (Laughter.)  She’s the one who should be — anyway.  (Laughter.)

Nineteen million people have applied to start new businesses.  That’s a record.  And here’s the thing about those new businesses: Every application to start a new business is an act of hope.  It’s an act of optimism, hope. 

More Americans have health insurance than ever before, and I don’t think that should be something we should sneeze at.  Everyone deserves basic health care. 

The racial wealth gap — (applause) — is the smallest in 20 years. 

Remember how many economists thought we’d need a recession to bring down inflation?  There was even a major financial news headline, which I’ll not reference, saying, “100 percent chance of a recession in 2023.”  Well, instead, our economy grew by more than 3 percent last year, and inflation came way down.  (Applause.) 

American households came out of the crisis — American households — with stronger balance sheets, higher incomes, greater wealth.  And all that progress is a remarkable testament to the resilience and determination of the American people.  They’re the one — I mean, determination of American workers; of American entrepreneurs, like all of you; American business. 

It’s in stark contrast to my predecessor’s record.  His failure in handling the pandemic led to hundreds of thousands of Americans dying because of COVID.  Remember “just inject a little dye, you’ll be okay”? 

His failure to lead the economic crisis that followed that created millions of Americans — caused them to lose their jobs.  In fact, the last month of his failed term was the last month our economy lost jobs.  On my watch, the economy has created jobs every single month for nearly four years.  (Applause.)  Because of you.

My predecessor enacted a $2 trillion tax cut that made — overwhelmingly benefited the very wealthy and the biggest corporations.  Made you feel good, I’m sure.  But guess what?  We don’t have to hurt corporations.  We don’t have to — I come from the corporate state of the world.  For 36 years, I represented the state — Tom and I — that had more corporations incorporated in Delaware than every other nation in the United States of America — every other state in the nation — the entire nation — in the state of Delaware.

But what did his policies do?  It increased the federal deficit significantly, more than any other previous presidential term.  And the federal deficit went up every single year of his presidency and left office with the largest annual deficit in American history: $3 trillion. 

And now he not only would give another $5 trillion tax cut for the very wealthy and the biggest corporations, he wants a new sales tax on imported goods — food, gasoline, clothing, and more.  As most of you know, such policies would cost the average American family nearly $4,000 a year. 

But he and his allies say they support workers and the middle class.  Give me a break.

On my watch, we’ve created over 700,000 manufacturing jobs.  He lost 170,000 manufacturing jobs in four years.  On our watch, factory construction is at a record high.  It increased 210 percent.  On the other team’s watch, factory construction barely increased 2 percent. 

On my watch, the trade deficit with China declined to its lowest level in a decade.  On his watch, the trade deficit with China soared. 

On my watch, we’re seeing a record stock market and record 401(k)s. 

And the bottom line is I’m a capitalist.  I wish I had more stock.  (Laughter.)  But I believe capitalism is the greatest force to grow the economy for everybody.  I really mean it. 

Now, don’t point to the fact that for 36 — this time I’m going to point out to you — when they did the income of all the members of Congress, I was listed as the poorest man in Congress.  (Laughter.)  I never thought I was poor.  I had a decent salary as a senator.

But we face a fundamental choice.  For the past 40 years, too many leaders have sworn by an economic theory that has not worked very well at all: trickle-down economics.  Cut taxes for the very wealthy — and they deserve having taxes cut — but cut for the very wealthy and hope the benefits trickle down.

Well, guess what?  Not a whole lot trickled down to my dad’s kitchen table. 

It’s clear, especially under my predecessor, that trickle-down economics failed.  And he’s promised it again — trickle-down economics — but it will fail again.

In fact, President Clinton pointed out that since the end of the Cold War in ‘89, America has created about 51 million jobs.  Of those 51 million jobs in that period, the economy under Democratic presidents created 50 million — a fact — 50 million of those.  And the economy under Republican presidents created 1 million of those new jobs. 

Folks, I’ve laid out a better choice, in my view, to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.  I promised to be a president to all Americans, whether they voted for me or not.  And I kept that promise, making a lot of Democrats very angry because studies show that I signed actually — one of the laws I signed actually delivered more benefits to red states than to blue states.  That’s a fact.  More went to Republican states than Democratic states.  That may not have been good politics, but I believe it’s good for the country.  And I kept my promise.

Today, we are better positioned than any nation in the world to truly win the economic competition of the 21st century, in my view.  And there’s so much more we can do.    

We’re going to continue bringing down prices for families by building more affordable housing, making childcare more affordable — and, by the way, you make it more affordable, it increases economic growth — growth — growth — by continuing to lower health care costs as well. 

We’re continuing fighting to make sure everyone — everyone pays their fair share in taxes. 

And, by the way, I hope some of you out there are billionaires, but paying 8.2 percent ain’t quite enough.  If you just paid 25 percent, it would generate enough income — $500 billion over the next 10 years.  We could cut the deficit.  And be paying 25 percent wouldn’t — anyway, I don’t want to get into it.  If I get going, might — (laughter).

But my point is that includes restoring the — extended the Child Care Tax Credit to cut child poverty in half. 

We’re determined to lower prescription drug costs not just for seniors but for everyone, helping the federal budget and household budgets and so much more. 

I’m sorry to go on so long.  Let me close with this.  I probably — you know, early in my term, I traveled — to the skepticism of some of my own team and many of the Democrats — to South Korea to meet with President (inaudible) and — President Hu in — in Sou- — in South Korea and the CEO of Samsung.  They were manufacturing a significant portion of the chips in the world.

And I sat with them and I encouraged both of them to invest in America.  And they agreed.  What surprised me, when I asked the CEO of Samsung why he was prepared to invest billions of dollars to build chip factories in the United States, they mentioned two reasons: because of our workforce, which I know we have the best workers in the world.  And second, they said we have the safest, the most secure nation in the world in which to invest. 

And now, as I stand here in front of some of the most signifi- — significant business leaders and successful business leaders in the country, we also know we have the best research universities in the world — the best in the world.  We have the most dynamic capitalist system in the world. 

But here’s what we can’t take for granted.  We have stability because we have a rule of law.  Our democracy is unparalleled. 

I know I talk about the — a lot about democracy from the first time I ran.  But it’s really under stress.  For real.  We can never lose those democratic principles.

American business, our economic dynamism can’t succeed, in my view, without a stability and security that makes us the envy of the world — and we are.

Four years ago, we’ve gone from a histor- — historic crisis to greater progress than any of us thought possible.  We did it with a new playbook based on one of the most im- — oldest truths of our nation: Believe in America.  Invest in America.  That’s the truth. 

Give the American people half a chance.  They have never, ever, ever, ever, ever let the country down.  Give them a full chance, and watch them lift us up to endless possibilities.  (Applause.)

That’s what I see in this room.  Incredible — I really mean this, and I’m not trying to be solicitous with you — an incredibly — incredible business leaders, innovators who embody that sense of possibilities.

You know, I spent more time with Xi Jinping than any world leader has: over 90 hours with him alone, traveled 17,000 miles with him in the United States and a — and in — and in China. 

We were in the Tibetan Plateau, and he looked at me.  He said, “Can you define America for me?”  And, by the way, I gave all my notes in, so they have this.  (Laughter.)  And I said, “Yeah, I can define America in one word” — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart; I mean this from the bottom of my heart — “Possibilities.” 

We’re a nation of possibilities.  We think big.  We believe big.  We sometimes fail, but we think big. 

I have never been more optimistic about America’s future.  We just have to remember who the hell we are and how far we’ve come together.  We’re the United States of America, and there’s nothing — virtually nothing we cannot do when we act together.

So, keep it up, folks.  We need you badly.

God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

1:47 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. appeared first on The White House.

5:16 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Thank you, Joe!  Thank you, Joe!  Thank you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

AUDIENCE:  Thank you, Joe!  Thank you, Joe!  Thank you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t know wh- — I don’t know where the hell that Joe is you’re talking about, but than- — (laughter).  Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Folks —

AUDIENCE:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Folks, welcome to one of the biggest Hispanic Heritage Months ever — ever at the White House.  (Applause.)

Before I begin, some of you ha- — a lot of good friends here, a lot of elected officials.  I’m not going to go through but want to point out something they heard me say all the time. 

One of the things that is changing, and you’re going to ch- — the Hispanic community is going to change America even more: 25 percent of K through 12 children are Hispanic — 25 percent.  (Applause.)  I’ve been saying this for a while.  Some of you thought I was exaggerating, but I’m telling you.  What’s going to happen over the next 10, 12 years is going to change the dynamic of this country in a big way.

And, by the way, Jessica, thank you for the introduction.  I’m — I — she — she’s an actor, producer, advocate, author, and she knows how to build companies.  (Laughter.)  Jessica, if I’m really good, maybe you could get a — me a job when this is all over.  (Laughter and applause.)  God love you.

The youngest Latina to start and take a company public and build a billion-dollar company, you are something else, kid.  (Applause.)  Well, folks, you know, you’ve done it — you’ve done it literally by trying to make life better and safer for other people — safer and healthier for women and children and families.  Not only made a successful company and a billion-dollar company, but you did it for good reason.  You did it not just for the profit.  You did it for the people you care about.  And it matters.  It matters. 

And you’ve done it by embracing your heritage — a proud Hispanic heritage that I see in all of you here today.  (Applause.)

And I want to recognize our congressional partners who are here, including Pete, chair of the House Democratic Caucus; Nannette, who — (applause) — wh- — where is Nanette?  Nanette is crazy about me now.  (Laughter.)  I’m leaving, so she loves me.  No, I’m — (laughter).  Alex in the Senate.  Retiring CHC Chair Grace.  (Applause.)  And so many members — of the CHC members. 

I’m looking forward to attending the gala tomorrow night.  (Applause.)

Also, thank you all for — all the public servants and educators who are here — artists, innovators, labor leaders, and more who are here today. 

The members of the most diverse administration in history.  (Applause.)  I made a commitment when I got elected: I was going to have an administration that looked like America, that taps into the full talents of our nation, including the incredible Hispanic cabinet members who are here today.

Secretary of Education Cardona, where are you, Mr. Secretary?  (Applause.)  Stand up. 

Small Business Administrator — Small Business Administrator Guzman.  Where is Administrator Guzman?  Stand — there you are.  (Applause.) 

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.  Where — Navy — (applause) — the Navy is here somewhere.  As a —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Right here!

THE PRESIDENT:  I see — okay, man.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Love you, (inaudible)!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you, s- — thank you.  (Applause.)

As the saying goes, you are your ancestors’ dream.  You know, I think about the courage of so many of you and your ancestors who came to America to start a new life — a nation that’s more than just a place.  You know, we’re the most unique nation in American hist- — in the history of the world.  We’re the only nation not built on geography, ethnicity, or religion but based on an idea — not a joke — an idea that we believe all men and women are created equal, endowed by their Creator — (applause) — no, I’m serious. 

Think about that as the base.  Not a joke.  We’re a nation of immigrants.  We’re a nation of immigrants.  And, by the way, it’s an idea, not geography — an idea.  And everyone — everyone deserves to be treated equally throughout their lives. 

You know, while we’ve never fully lived up to that, we’ve never walked away from it either.  And we’re sure in hell not walking away from it now.  (Applause.)  

Since our founding, the very idea of America has been nurtured, enriched, and advanced by the contributions and sacrifices and hard work and dreams of immigrants and descendants from all over the world, like so many of your families, like mine and Jill’s families from Ireland and En- — and — and Jill’s —

I — I — you know, I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid; I married — (laughter) — I married Dominic Giacoppa’s daughter.  (Laughter.) 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  You can say that again, man.  No one screws around with me.  (Laughter.)

One of the reasons Jill and I really wanted to host today’s celebration is to say thank you.  Thank you for your partnership and your friendship.  And I mean this sincerely: We are forever grateful.  I mean it from the bottom of my heart. 

I also wanted to host this reception because we have — we have progress to celebrate.  Together, we’re making the most significant investments in the Hispanic community ever in all of American history.  (Applause.) 

We’ve centered equity — equity in everything we do.  With the help of just three and half years, we’ve created more than 5 million jobs for Hispanic Americans — (applause) — the lowest Hispanic unemployment rate on record.  We also turned Puerto Rico’s economy, investing in more than $140 billion — (applause) — and adding over 100,000 new jobs in Puerto Rico. 

More Hispanics have health insurance than ever before in history.  A record number of Hispanic small busin- — small businesses are starting up, like your little small business — a billion-dollar (inaudible).  (Laughter.)  Historic investments in Hispanic Saving [Serving] Institutions, a — 500 college, university, and community college that serve such a large percentage of Hispanic students.  By the way, it’s about $15 billion (inaudible).

Under my plan for student debt relief, more than 5 million people received student debt relief.  And it’s going to happen more; we’re going to win in court.  Signified — and a significant number — (applause) — a sig- — a significant number of Hispanic borrowers. 

The racial weth gap — wealth gap is the smallest in 20 years.  We’re — we’re removing lead pipes so every American can drink clean water without getting — worrying about our children getting brai- — our children getting brain damage.  We’re delivering high-speed affordable Internet to every American, which is as essential today as when FDR delivered electricity to every American.  It’s that consequential.  (Applause.)

We’ve increased the childcare subsidy funding by 50 percent, providing families peace of mind and still growing the economy.  When we do these things, we grow the economy.  When parents are able to go out and work and they can make more money, they grow the economy.  And the — so it’s — it’s a net savings for America.  It really is.

Let me be clear: We believe in an immigration system that reflects our values.  We don’t demonize immigrants.  We don’t single them out for attacks.  We don’t believe they’re poisoning the blood of the country.  We’re a nation of immigrants, and that’s why we’re so damn strong.  (Applause.)

My mother’s side of the family were a bunch of Irish immigrants who came over on coffin ships in 1848 and 1850.  And guess what?  We don’t have — we don’t know wh- — if you go back and look, the Irish and Irish Catholics were discriminated against as much as any other group of people that ever came to this country. 

But guess what?  We’re proud as hell of what we’ve done and all of you, protecting their funde- — our fundamental freedoms: the freedom to vote, the freedom to choose, the freedom to deny — not to deny any of those freedoms. 

And, folks, in this administration, we don’t erase history.  Together, we make history.  (Applause.)  We’re making history.

And today, we honor you and the long line of patriots throughout our history who have made the promise of America real for all Americans.  And let’s finally honor this history by building the National Museum for Latino Americans — (applause) — I’m trying — I’m trying — as well as the American Women’s History Museum as well on the National Mall.

And, by the way, all of you have pushed us forward to be a country that we say we are — for freedom, justice, equality for all.  And, by the way, today we honor this simple truth: Hispanic history is American history.  (Applause.)  And — and, by the way, a lot of you all have been a hell of a lot longer than any of the rest of us in America — in America.  Oh, not a joke. 

Hispanic excellence is American excellence. 

Look, you’re all standing and you’re all going to start to rebel in a second, so I’m going to ma- — close this out.  (Laughter.) 

I was elected to the United States Senate as a 29-year-old kid.  I wasn’t old enough to be sworn in.  I had to wait 17 days to be eligible.  And, by the way, I was motivated — not a joke — ma- — many of you have been in my office.  I have several busts, one of Cesar Chavez, who came to Delaware to organize the farmworkers in Delaware.  We — our largest industry, everybody thought, was the DuPont company.  It’s a $4 billion industry in agriculture and chicken.  He came to organize. 

Here I stand, 50 years later, as your president, honored to celebrate the heritage of this incredible community. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  I always — thank you.  I always said America is defined by one word.  I spent an awful lot of time with Xi Jinping, more than any other world leader has.  I spent over 90 hours alone with him, literally — traveled 17,000 miles with him. 

I was on the Himalayan Plateau with him, and he asked me — he said, “Can you define America for me?”  Not a joke.  Some of you have heard this.  It’s true.  I sai- — I said, “Yes.  One word.”  And he looked me; through an interpreter, he said, “What’s the word?”  I said, “Possibilities.” 

Everything is possible in America.  Everything is possible in America.  (Applause.)  It’s also the one word that defines Hispanic possibilities — heritage: possibilities.

Because you have never — I’ve never been more optimistic about the future.  We just have to remember who in the hell we are.  I really mean it. 

We’re the United States of America.  We’re the only nation in the world that’s come through every crisis stronger than we entered that crisis every single time when we moved together. 

Folks, I mean this from the bottom of my heart.  I am more optimistic about the future of America than I’ve been in the w- — before.  We have the strongest economy in the world.  We have the best system in the world.  We just have to remember who the hell we are. 

And, by the way, it all depends on maintaining our democratic values.  (Applause.)

So, folks, there’s a whole hell of a lot — this is the single most consequential election in maybe the lifetime of anyone standing here, because it matters.  The other team doesn’t see the world like we see it.  They don’t have the same attitude we have.  They are the most close-minded people I’ve ever dealt with. 

Like I said, I know I only look like I’m 40, but I’m a lot older.  (Laughter.)  I’ve been here 51 years: as a senator for 36 years; vice president; out 4 years as — working as a — at the Penn Biden Center; and then back here for 4 years.  

Folks, there’s nothing we can’t do.  I really mean it.  And I’m so — that’s why I’m so happy about Kamala being upbeat about what’s happening.  (Applause.) 

So, folks, (inaudible) — and I have one great regret.  There was a significant senator from the state of Texas, Democrat, who looked at me one day and he said, “Joe, I think you’re going to run for president one day.”  I said, “What the hell are you” — I didn’t know what he was talking about. 

He said, “But if you ever want to lead America, if you ever want to win in Texas, you got to learn to speak Spanish.”  (Laughter.)  True story.

I took five years of French in high school and college.  (Laughter.)  It’s a —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You’re going to have time now. 

THE PRESIDENT:  I do.  (Laughter.)  I am.

And, by the way, so what happened was I — and I tried to speak French at a — when I — early on in my career in France, and they just laughed at me.  (Laughter.) 

I tried to speak — we had the largest influx of Hispanics in 197- — in 1980 Census as any state in the Union as a percentage.  So, I get up, and we have a large community.  And I get up and I made a speech in Spanish.  I mangled it.  (Laughter.)  And they all cheered and said thank you.  (Laughter and applause.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I appreciate it. 

And the bad news for you all is I’m not going anywhere. 

Thank you.  (Applause.)

5:30 P.M. EDT

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Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Washington, D.C.

12:48 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  Good afternoon.  Good afternoon, everyone.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.) Good afternoon.  Please have a seat.  Please have a seat.  Please have a seat.

Oh, it’s good to see so many friends.

AUDIENCE:  We love you!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I love you back.  (Applause.)

 I want to recognize Chair Barragán — where are you? — my dear friend, fellow Californian.  I want to thank you for all that you do — (applause) — and all that you have done.

CHCI Chair Espaillat, thank you for all that you are.  He — you know, I — he spent — both of them have spent time with me at my house, and we’ve — we’ve shared a lot of good stories together and — and many meals together.  And I just want to personally thank them both, because they really, as you know, are extraordinary people and extraordinary leaders and they do so much on behalf of so many.  So, thank you both for your leadership and for hosting me this afternoon.

And to all the incredible leaders here, it is an honor to be with you again.

And to everyone, happy Hispanic Heritage Month — (applause) — which, in my book, is every month of the year.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.) 

So, this is a room of long-standing friends.  And many of you know my background.  My mother arrived in the United States when she was 19 years old by herself.  And I spoke about it recently, actually.  You know, my mother — I was the eldest child.  And as the eldest child, those of us who are, you know you see a lot of things in terms of what your parents go through. 

And I would often see how my mother was treated.  She was a five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent.  And I would see how the world would sometimes treat her.

I’m going to tell you something, and this where I come from.  My mother never lost her cool.  She never defined her sense of dignity based on how others treated her.  She was a proud woman.  She was a hardworking woman.  She had two goals in her life: to raise her two daughters — my sister Maya and me — and to end breast cancer.  She was a breast cancer researcher. 

And growing up, our mother taught us certain fundamental values: the importance of hard work; the power of community; and the responsibility that we have to not complain about anything, much less injustice.  Right?  Because “why are you complaining about it,” she would say.  “Do something about it.”  And that’s how I was raised: Do something about it.

And those values have guided me my entire career, from, as you heard, being a young courtroom prosecutor in Oakland, California — (applause). 

 AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Bay Area! 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Wh- — Bay Area.  (Laughter.)  106.1 KMEL.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  That was our local radio station for hip-hop.  (Laughter.)

But doing that work — you know, part of the background on why I became a prosecutor was actually when I was in high school, I learned that my best friend was being abused — being molested by her stepfather.  And when I learned about it, I told her she had to come and live with us.  And I called my mother, and my mother said, “Of course she does.”  And she did.

And so, I decided I wanted to start a career and do the work of — in part, just doing the work of making sure that we protect the most vulnerable.

And so, I started my career as a courtroom prosecutor and took on those who would be predators against the most vulnerable.

As attorney general of California, I took on the big banks and delivered $20 billion for homeowners who were middle-class families who faced foreclosure because of predatory lending practices.  I stood up for veterans and students who were being scammed by the big for-profit colleges, knowing the — and many of whom were — had an immigrant background and were just simply

trying to — to do the best they could to invest in themselves and their family for their future and — and the subject of — of awful scams.

 I have stood up, in my career, for workers who were being cheated out of the wages they were due and for seniors who have faced elder abuse. 

 And I say all that to say: When I stand here before you today, this is not just something that I decided to do but really is about a lifelong career that has been about fighting for the people — for the people.

And for years, I have been proud to fight alongside the members and the leaders of this incredible caucus — (applause) — in almost all of that work.  And the work we have done together has been about so much I just talked about.  It has been about defending workers’ rights.  It has been about expanding health care for more Americans, including DREAMers.  (Applause.)  It has been about forgiving billions of dollars in student loan debt, including for many of the folks that we know — friends, relatives — who, again, have been burdened by that heavy debt and just needed to be seen — teachers, firefighters, nurses. 

 The work we have done together has been to create the National Museum of the American Latino and — (applause) — and, of course, last year, I was proud to be with a lot of the leaders here in Houston for the CHC On the Road tour.  (Applause.)

 So, I say that to say that, CHC, our work together has always been guided by shared values and by a shared vision.  However, at this moment, at this moment, we are confronting two different — very — very different — visions for our nation: one focused on the past; the other, ours, focused on the future.  

We fight for a future for affordable health care, affordable childcare, and paid leave.  We fight for a future where we build what I call an “opportunity economy,” understanding that the people of our country, the people we know, have extraordinary ambition and aspirations and dreams of what they can be, what they can do, are prepared to do the hard work and put that hard work in, but don’t necessarily always have access to the opportunities to achieve and realize those goals.

 So, I see an America where everyone has an opportunity to own a home, to build wealth, to start a business. 

 I believe in a future — we, together, believe in a future where we lower the cost of living for America’s families so that people have an opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead. 

 And so, with the work we have done together and going forward, we will continue to lower the cost of groceries, for example, by taking on something that I think is very important to deal with, which is price gouging on behalf of big corporations.  (Applause.)

 You know, I’ve — I’ve seen that happen before.  Many of you who — who have — and are coming from states where y- — we’ve seen extreme weather conditions — in California, wildfires, and other parts of the country — or even in the pandemic, where people are desperate because of these kinds of emergencies, desperate for support.  And then some, you know, corporation — and it’s very few of them that do this — but then jack up prices to make it more difficult for desperate people to just get by.  We need to take that on.

We need to lower the cost of housing.  We don’t have enough housing in our country.  The supply is too low, and it’s too expensive both for renters and for folks who want to buy a home.  So, we will build together millions of new homes and give first-time homebuyers $25,000 in down payment assistance.  (Applause.) 

Because, look, people just want to get their foot in the door.  I — my mother worked hard.  She saved up.  It wasn’t until I was a teenager that she was able to buy our first home.

And the American dream is elusive for far too many people increasingly.  And that’s why it is part of my perspective that’s let’s just do the work of giving first-time homebuyers a $25,000 down payment assistance.  (Applause.)  Let them get their foot in the door.

We need to lower the cost of health care and continue to take on Big Pharma and cast the — cap the cost of prescription medications, yes, for our seniors, which we have done together, but for all Americans.  Because when we look at drugs like insulin, everyone here knows — first of all, Latinos are 70 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes.  And with the support of the CHC, we were able to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for our seniors.  (Applause.)

In fact, recently, I was in Nevada.  I’m — I’m in these streets.  Let me tell — I’m everywhere.  (Laughter.)  But I was recently in Nevada, and a woman came up to me with tears in her eyes, and she showed me the receipts for her mother’s insulin.  And it used — she show- — and I was — she showed me many papers, and I said, “Tell me what these are.”  And she said, “Well, these are the receipts, and I want you to see where it used to cost us hundreds if not a thousand dollars a month, but no more.” 

The work we are doing together, the very purpose of CHC and all of the leaders here includes have a real impact on real people.  And I have the blessing of being able to travel our country and see it every day.  It’s extraordinary work that is happening because of the leaders here.

We, because of our work together, have finally given Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices with Big Pharma. 

And understand, if my opponent, Donald Trump, wins, his allies in Congress intend to end Medicare and end Medicare’s negotiating power.  As they remind us again this week, they are essentially saying — check this out, because if — because, you know, you have to ask why, right?  So, why would you want to end Medicare’s negotiating power against Big Pharma?  And essentially, they’re saying that it’s not fair to Big Pharma.  (Laughs.)  That’s essentially what they’re saying.

But I’ll tell you what’s not fair.  What’s not fair is that our seniors for too long have had to cut pills in half because they cannot afford their full medication.  (Applause.)  That’s not fair.  It’s not fair that our seniors have had to choose between filling their prescriptions and putting food in their refrigerator or paying their rent.  That’s not fair. 

And that’s why we will continue to do our work together, including fight Project 2025, an agenda that would cut Medicare and increase the cost of health care in our country.  (Applause.)  Because we stand with the people and on the side of the people. 

We will cut taxes for working families, including restoring and expanding the Child Tax Credit.  (Applause.)  Because we know this is the kind of work that must happen if we are to be true to our values and be true to understanding that — that parents, in particular young parents, need that support.  We — when we — when we extended the Child Tax Credit, cut child poverty by 50 percent — by half.  Think about what that meant for so many families.

 The vast majority of parents have a desire to raise their children well.  They love their children but don’t necessarily have the resources to do everything their child needs.  I grew up understanding the children of the community are the children of the community, and we should all have a vested interest in ensuring that children can go — grow up with the resources that they need to achieve their God-given potential.

 So, I know where I come from.  And we have to always put — and I know CHC agrees with this, and this is part of our collective life’s work — we have to put the middle class first; we have to put working families first, understanding their dreams and their desires and their ambitions deserve to be invested in and it will benefit everyone.  (Applause.)

And together, CHC, we must also reform our broken immigration system — (applause) — and protect our DREAMers and understand we can do both — create an earned pathway to citizenship and ensure our border is secure.  We can do both and we must do both.  (Applause.)

 And while we fight to move our nation forward to a brighter future, Donald Trump and his extremist allies will keep trying to pull us backward.  We all remember what they did to tear apart families.  And now they have pledged to carry out the largest deportation — a mass deportation — in American history.  

 Imagine what that would look like and what that would be.  How is that going to happen?  Massive raids?  Massive detention camps?  What are they talking about?

 They also will give billions of dollars of tax cuts to billionaires and corporations — massive tax cuts; pardon January 6th perpetrators who attacked our Capitol, not far from here.  They would cut Social Security and Medicare.  They intend to end the Affordable Care Act and threaten the health care of more than 5 million Latinos in our country.  All based on — I’m sure many of you saw the debate — (applause) — so, on that point about the Affordable Care Act — all based on “concepts of a plan.”  (Laughter and applause.)  “Concepts.”  “Concepts.”

 Their Project 2025 agenda would pull our nation backward.  But we are not going back.  We are not going back.  (Applause.)  We are not going back. 

Instead, together, we will chart a new way forward because ours is a fight for the future.  And it is a fight for freedom — the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to live without fear of bigotry and hate, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride, and the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body — (applause) — and not have her government telling her what to do.  (Applause.)  

And understand, on that last point, how we got here.  Everyone here knows.  Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would do just what they did, which is to overturn the protections of Roe v. Wade.  And now, in more than 20 states, we have a Trump abortion ban, which criminalized health care providers — in one state, providing prison for life.

You guys may have heard the story — many here — about the stories about — the horrendous most recent story is about what happened in Georgia.

 Many of these Trump abortions bans that make no exception for rape or incest, it’s immoral.  It’s immoral.

 And today, 40 percent of Latinas in America live in a state with a Trump abortion ban. 

 So, imagine if she is a working woman — understand that the majority of women who seek abortion care are mothers — understand what that means for her.  So, she’s got to now travel to another state.  God help her that she has some extra money to pay for that plane ticket.  She’s got to figure out what to do with her kids.  God help her if she has affordable childcare.  Imagine what that means.

She has to leave her home to go to a airport, stand in a TSA line — like, think about this.  You know, everybody here is — is — you’re policy leaders.  I always say to my team, especially the young people I mentor, on any public policy, you have to ask, “How is this going to affect a real person?”  Ask how it would affect a real people.  Go through the details.

 So, she’s got to stand in a TSA line to get on a plane, sitting next to a perfect stranger, going to a city where she’s never been, to go and receive a medical procedure.  She’s going to have to get right back to the airport, because she — got to get back to those kids.  And it’s not like her best friend can go with her, because the best friend is probably taking care of the kids.  All because these people have decided they’re in a better position to tell her what’s in her best interest than she is to know.
    
 It’s just simply wrong.

And I think we all know one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling a woman what to do.  If she chooses — (applause) — if she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam, but not the government telling her what to do.

 And I pledge to you, when CHC helps pass a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.)  Proudly.  Proudly. 

 So, friends, we have some work to do — in fact, a lot of hard work ahead of us.  But we like hard work.  Hard work is good work.  Hard work is joyful work, I say.  And I truly believe that America is ready to turn the page on the politics of division and hate. 

And to do it, our nation is counting on the leaders here, your power, your activism.  And so, I thank you in advance for your work to register people to vote and get people to the polls.  Each of us has a job to do.

As we celebrate this month, we know we stand on broad shoulders of people before us who have passed us now the baton — those heroes who fought for freedom who have now passed the baton onto us.

     And the bottom line is: We know what we stand for, so we know what to fight for.  And when we fight —

     AUDIENCE:  We win.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we win.

     God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

                             END                1:08 P.M. EDT

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Community College of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

3:41 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you, Gabby.  (Applause.)

Thank you all so very much.  I — first of all, Mayor, thank you for being here, and I (inaudible) — (applause).  You’ve been — you’ve just been extraordinary as a leader and also as a friend, and I thank you so very much.

Hi, guys.  (Applause.)  I’m so happy to see you guys.

What schools are represented here?

AUDIENCE:  (Inaudible.) 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  UPenn!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  (Laughter.)  Poor guy.  You’re the only one in here from UPenn.  (Laughter.)  (Applause.) 

Okay.  Come on.  (Laughter.)  (Applause.)

I’m so happy to see you guys.  You know, I — you guys know how I feel about you and your generation.  You all are just killing it.  And you are the reason — one of the reasons, for sure, that I am so optimistic and excited about the future of our country.

Your generation — seriously, because you guys — the thing I love about you: You’re brilliant, you care, you are impatient.  (Laughter.)  You’re like, “I’m not waiting for somebody else to handle this; I’m going to work on getting it done,” which is why you guys are all here. 

You all have figured out — you know, I think we’re all born as leaders, and it’s a matter of when you decide to kick it in, and you all have decided to do that at this stage of your life in such a critical way. 

And every issue that is at play in this election is going to directly impact you.  And, of course, you know that, and that’s why you’re here, because you’re taking matters into your own hands. 

And I think it’s really important at a moment like this, when there are some powerful forces, frankly, that are trying to diminish and belittle and suggest that, you know, we have nothing in common and divide us that leaders pull together, build community, build coalitions — right? — who really intentionally understand the power in the collective.  And you all have figured that out in such an amazing way.

And I hope you’re making friends with each other, because you’re going to run into each other years from now like, “Yeah, you remember ‘24 (inaudible)” — (laughter).  You guys are going to remember each other when — whether you decide to run for elected office or whatever you decide to do with your role of leadership.  So, I hope you’re making friends and enjoying each other as you build up what we need to do over the next 49 days.

In 49 days, we are going to make such a big difference, and we’re going to win.  We are winning this campaign.  (Applause.) We are winning this campaign. 

And I will tell you — and I will tell you, it’s very, very important to me, and I know to you that our goal, yes, is that we must and will win and that through these next 49 days, we continue to build community and coalition.  Let’s leave something for the work we are doing right now that lifts people up, that strengthens people, that strengthens communities.  Right?  Let’s have that as our co-equal goal, because that’s when we really — combined with the goal, the ultimate goal of winning, that’s when we’re about building something that will be bigger than any one of us, and it’s a great feeling.

You all have heard me say probably many times, I think part of what’s wrong and backward thinking about what we’ve been seeing from some folks is the suggestion that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down, instead of what we all know: The true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.

 So, let’s do our work.  (Applause.)  Let’s do our work in a way that is about doing just that, and that includes being a volunteer.  You know, I’ve worked on many campaigns, and I don’t know if some of you know, but I — my first political office that I ran for was freshman class representative of the liberal arts student council.  (Laughter and applause.) 

 Mayor, it was a very tough race.  I ran against this girl from Jersey.  She was tough.  (Laughter.)  But I was from Oakland, so we were all right.  (Laughter and applause.)

 But I say all that to say that there is so much that you guys are going to do during these next days.  It’s about knocking on doors and talking with people.  You know, I know everyone is living online and through their phones, but the power that I hope you have seen already and you’re going to see over these next 49 days — there’s an incredible power that comes with just looking somebody in the eye, shaking their hand, asking them, “How are you doing?  What are you concerned about?  What are you worried about?  What are your dreams?  What are your hopes?” 

 It’s an incredible, incredible thing you can do when you do that sincerely.  And you’re going to see that there’s a lot of joy that comes with that experience, too, but an incredible amount of power.

 And so, that’s the — that’s the joy of — of volunteering.  You know, and you going to knock on doors, you’re going to call.  It is just as equally important.  You know, I mean — you know, so many people in my life, they’re like, “You’re the only person who leaves voicemails that I know.”  (Laughter.)  But they love my voicemails — (laughter) — because there’s something about hearing another human’s voice in addition to receiving a text message.  Right?

And so, you’re going to be doing the calls, and you’re going to be texting, and you’re going to be engaging.  And it’s a reciprocal relationship, and you’re going to be receiving so much in the process. 

So, thank you all for all that you are doing and that you’re committing to do over these next 49 days.  I know there are many other things you could be doing. 

Don’t put aside your studies.  (Laughter.)  You know, shower from time to time.  (Laughter.)  Try to eat vegetables when you can.  (Laughter.) 

But enjoy it and know — know, most importantly, you are making a difference.  You are making a difference.  Our country is relying on you guys.  We really are.

So, keep at it.  Thank you for everything.  Today is National Voter Registration Day.  We — voting registration, I believe, ends October 21st, so we’ve got, you know, about a month to get this done and make sure that people are registered.   And then we’re going to remind them about why it’s important that they are, because their voice is their power; their power is their voice.  We’re going to remind people: Don’t ever let anybody silence your power.  (Applause.)  Right?  (Inaudible.)

So, with that, I’ll see you all in these streets.  And please take care.  (Applause.)  And be well.

And thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank you all.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

                        END                     3:48 P.M. EDT

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WHYY Studios

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2:28 P.M. EDT

Q    Let’s meet our three moderators for today’s discussion.  Gerren Keith Gaynor is the White House correspondent and managing editor of politics for TheGrio.   Eugene Daniels is co-author of the Politico Playbook and is Politico’s White House correspondent.  Tonya Mosley is the co-host of NPR and WHYY’s “Fresh Air.”  (Applause.)

Q    Hello, everyone, and welcome.  We’re going to get right to it.  Without further ado, Vice President Kamala Harris.  (Applause.)

Thank you. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Good afternoon, everyone.

AUDIENCE:  Good afternoon.

Q    Madam Vice President, thank you so much for doing this and making the time.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Of course.

Q    It’s a little bit busy right now.  We want to start on an issue that Americans across the country say is their number one concern, and that’s the economy. 

A question that has been asked of you and everybody that’s on the Democratic side is whether or not voters are better off now than they were four years ago.  Are they better off now than they were four years ago?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, when we came into — well, first of all, let me just say: It — it is good to be with the National Association of Black Journalists, and I thank you for the work you do and that your members do every day.  It is very important that we ensure that this organization and your members always have the resources and the platforms to deliver the voices that must be heard.  So, I thank you for hosting me today. 

 Four years ago, when we came in, we came in during the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.  We came in during the worst public health epidemic in centuries.  We came in after the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.  And a lot of it due, in large part, to the mismanagement by the former president as it relates to COVID and, obviously, January 6th.

And we had, then, a lot of work to do to clean up a mess.  As of today, we have created over 16 million new jobs, over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs.  We have the lowest Black unemployment rate in generations.  We have invested in small businesses, and I’m — they’re — to the benefit of many people but including Black small businesses — some of the highest rate of creation of new Black small businesses in years.

We have done the work of capping the cost of prescription medication for our seniors for issues like insulin.  And, again, I’m speaking to the Black journalists who care about all people, but, in particular, I’ll talk about the impact on Black people, where we know Black folks are 60 times more likely — 60 percent, excuse me, more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes. 

 And we have now finally capped the cost of insulin for our seniors at $35 a month, capped the cost of prescription medication for our seniors at $2,000 a year, because we — unlike the former president, who promised to do it, we finally have allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices against the big pharmaceutical companies.  And these are just some of the accomplishments. 

 Is the price of groceries still too high?  Yes.  Do we have more work to do?  Yes.

And I will tell you, I do believe that I offer a new generation of leadership for our country that is about, in particular, turning the page on an era that sadly has shown us attempts by some to incite fear, to create division in our country, and to do the work that is about bringing some level of optimism and, dare I say, ambition, about what I know is possible in our country. 

And so, my plan for the economy includes what I imagine and believe and call an “opportunity economy,” what we can do to grow an opportunity economy where all people have access to the resources to compete, to apply their incredible work ethic, their ambition, their aspirations, and their dreams and actually not just get by but get ahead. 

And I can talk in more detail about it, but, specifically, I’ll mention a few things. 

  Q    Yeah.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  One of the big issues that affects people right now in terms of the economy and their economic well-being is we have a shortage of housing supply.  It’s too expensive.  People can’t afford to buy a home. 

 You know, we grew up, our parents, where they had the ability to somehow believe the American dream was attainable.  Not so much for younger working people.  And I recognize that. 

 So, my approach is a new approach, which is to say, let’s just take this and deal with it head on.  And part of my approach is to say I’m going to employ and — and en- — and engage the private sector — in particular, homebuilders — with tax credits to give them the incentive to create new housing — 3 million by the end of my first term.

 And understanding that not everybody is, you know, handed a silver spoon but works hard and is trying to save up for a down payment, part of my plan under my opportunity economy is to give first-time homebuyers a $25,000 down payment assistance so they can just get their foot in the door to be able to then engage in what will prove to be their opportunity to build intergenerational wealth. 

 And here’s my personal experience coming at that: I grew up a middle-class kid.  My mother was hardworking.  She raised me and my sister, Maya.  She saved up, and it was only by the time I was a teenager that she could afford to — to actually buy her first home.  And I know and I identify with — I know where I come from.

     Q    Madam Vice President —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I know — but I’m just going to finish.  I know that so many people work so hard and should have the opportunity to just get their foot in the door.  Again, so it’s not just about getting by but getting ahead. 

     Please. 

 Q    I’d like to ask you more about the opportunity economy.  Housing is —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    — a part of it, as well as expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

Q    — financial support, as you mentioned, for first-time buyers —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yep.

Q    — and a $50,000 tax deduction for start-ups and small businesses. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

Q    But I want to talk to you about the squeeze that millions of Americans are also dealing with that impacts their ability to work and make money, and that is childcare —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    — and eldercare.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    And it’s a squeeze for millions of people.  In some parts of the country, it costs more for childcare than for rents.  I think Bloomberg —

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

 Q    — recently reported an average of $33,000 a year.  So, I’m just wondering: You mentioned that — in your opportunity economy, a Child Tax Credit, but that’s just one part of an ecosystem. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Right.

 Q    Please tell us: What plans will you propose to guarantee that families can actually afford childcare and eldercare? 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, to your point, it is — it is, sadly, the state of affairs in our country that working people often have to decide to either be able to work or be able to afford childcare.  Like, they can’t afford childcare and actually do the work that they want to do because it’s too expensive, and it doesn’t actually level out in terms of the expense versus the income. 

My plan is that no family — no working family should pay more than 7 percent of their income in childcare, because I know that when you talk about the return on that investment, allowing people to work, allowing people to pursue their dreams in terms of how they want to work, where they want to work benefits us all.  It strengthens the entire economy. 

We saw, for example, during the pandemic, what happened, and it sadly has dissipated as a conversation that we need to resuscitate, which is the number of women that had to leave the workforce because of a lack of childcare and home health care.  And so many of our families — and, in particular, women end up carrying the responsibility — men do too, of course — of what — what we call people who are in — in the sandwich generation —

  Q    Exactly.

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — who have young children and are also taking care of their parents.  And it is just absolutely too expensive for them to be able to work and do that. 

 So, my plan is not only about 7 percent of income for working people for childcare, but also, we need to do better for our childcare providers and our home health care providers, in terms of ensuring that they receive the wages that they deserve based on the dignity of their work. 

I have spent time with home health care providers, and their work is some of the most taxing work you can imagine.  And I actually, when my mother was sick with cancer, did a lot in terms of taking care of her. 

 And the — the work that is about taking care of a loved one — in particular, an elder — is extraordinarily heavy in terms of the emotional toll, the time it takes.  And — and we do it because that is what we do.  But not everyone has the ability to take time from work to do it, and they need help.  And we need to make sure we have home health care workers that can help them. 

But I want to also get back to the earlier point that you made about extending the Child Tax Credit.  So, part of my new approach is we need to expand the Child Tax Credit.  And so, part of my plan that is under an opportunity economy is to extend and expand the Child Tax Credit to $6,000 so that young families, in particular, for the first year of their child’s life, which is an extraordinarily important time in their development, have the resources to be able to buy a crib, buy a car seat, buy children’s clothing and not have to worry about whether they’re going to be able to meet their other needs. 

And I will — I don’t need to remind anybody here, especially these — these esteemed journalists — but when we expanded the Child Tax Credit a couple years ago, we reduced Black child poverty by half. 

 And so, again, if you talk about the benefit and if you think about the benefit to the economy overall, it strengthens our economy to do things like pay attention to affordable childcare, affordable home health care, and extending the Child Tax Credit. 

     Q    Madam Vice President, Black men, as you know, are a closely watched voting bloc.  You’ve hosted Black men at your residence. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yep.

     Q    You have engaged Black men and centered them in your Eco- — Economic Opportunity Tour.  But polling shows that some Black men, particularly young Black men, are considering voting for Donald Trump, and they see him as better for the economy.  What is your message to young Black male voters who feel left out of this economy?  And how can your economic policies materially change their lives?

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, I appreciate the spirit of the question.  But I’ll tell you, I’ve often been asked this question in a way that I’ve had to respond by first saying that I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket.  Black men are like any other voting group.  You got to earn their vote. 

 So, I’m working to earn the vote, not assuming I’m going to have it because I am Black but because the policies and the perspectives I have understands what we must do to recognize the needs of all communities, and I intend to be a president for all people. 

 Specifically as it relates to what we need to do, to your point, around economic opportunity, yes, I started — way before I was at the top of the ticket and — what I called an Economic Opportunity Tour focused on Black men, understanding that, for example, we have so many entrepreneurs in the community who do not have access to capital, but they’ve got great ideas, an incredible work ethic, the ambition, the aspiration, the dream but don’t have the relationships, necessarily. 

 So, my work has included, as vice president, getting billions more dollars into community banks, including working with the big banks to do that so that we can increase access to capital for our small businesses, for our start-ups. 

 Part of my plan, under my economic opportunity plan going forward, is that right now start-up entrepreneurs, small businesses only get a tax deduction of $5,000.  Nobody can start a small business with $5,000.  So, I’m expanding that to $50,000, understanding, again, that when people have the opportunity to have the resources to get started, they’re going to put the good ideas, they’re going to put the hard work into it. 

 And part of what I also know is that our young Black men, our Black men, just like any group of people, anybody — our small businesses are really the — the backbone of our economy overall.  And when they do better economically, we all do better. 

 Part of my work is about understanding what we need to do in dealing with, for example, the historic inequities that have faced the Black community around homeownership.  Right?  I don’t have to go through the history with anybody here about what that has meant in terms of redlining, what that has meant in terms of biases in home appraisals, and what that — the impact it has had on stemming the opportunity to build intergenerational wealth because of those obstacles. 

  So, part of the work that I have done and will continue to do is identify, speak truth about those obstacles, and address them. 

 Another example is medical debt.  One in four Black families or individuals is more likely to carry medical debt than others.  So, part of my perspective and, as vice president, part of the work that we have done is to say that we’re going to eliminate medical debt from being on your credit score.  Because, until now, medical debt worked against your credit score.  And, you know, people know their me- — their credit score like you know your weight.  Right?  You know that number. 

  And the difference between what that number is and what it needs to be is the difference between you being able to get a can loan, a small business loan, or even a lease in an — on an apartment.  And so, part of my approach is understanding the obstacles that traditionally and currently exist to allow anyone, including Black men, be able to achieve economic wealth. 

And I’mma tell you, I don’t think it is sufficient to just only talk about economic policy around reducing unemployment.  It is an important marker, and I’m proud of the work that we’ve done thus far, but it should be a baseline that everybody’s working. 

 The point is: Do people have an opportunity to build wealth if that’s what they choose to do, if that’s what they want to do?  And a lot of my perspective as we go forward is just that.

 I believe that there are a lot of opportunities that are available to the American people if we just see — if we see people and understand what they want for themselves and their families, and then meet them where they are. 

 Q    Madam Vice President, I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about the war in Gaza.  You’ve called for a ceasefire hostage deal and a two-state solution as an end to the war for many months now.  And while you’ve expressed support for Israel to defend itself, a two-state solution and a ceasefire are at odds with what Benjamin Netanyahu has said is their right to defense. 

  If it matters, as you say, how Israel defends itself, where do you see the line between aggression and defense and our power as Israel’s ally to — to do something? 

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  A lot to unpack in what you just said, so let’s start with this.

I absolutely believe that this war has to end, and it has to end as soon as possible, and the way that will be achieved is by getting a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done.  And we are working around the clock to achieve that end. 

Stepping back, October 7, 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered — and actually — and some Americans, by the way, in that number, slaughtered — young people who were attending a — a concert.  Women were horribly raped. 

 And, yes, so I have said Israel has a right to defend itself.  We would.  And —

 Q    But, Madam Vice President —

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But n- — but let me finish —

 Q    — I think my ask is the —

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  No, no, let me finish.

 Q    — difference between aggression and defense here.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  No, but it’s important to put it in context, which is what I’m doing, and I’ll get to that.

 And so, how it does so matters. And far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed — women and children. We have seen with horror the images coming out of Gaza. And we have to take that seriously. And we have to agree that not only must we end this war, but we have to have a goal of a two-state solution, because there must be stability and peace in that reason [region] inasmuch as what we do in our goal is to ensure that Israelis have security and Palestinians, in equal measure, have security, have self-determination, and dignity.

 Q    A question for you on that, though: What levers does the U.S. have to support Palestinians in their right to self-determination?  And is it even possible as Israel’s ally?

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, absolutely.  I’m — I — I will tell you, I have been actively involved in, for example, meeting not only with Israeli officials but with Arab officials to

talk about how we can construct a day-after scenario where we participate in ensuring those exact goals that I outlined, including, as part of the principles that should be applied to those goals, that there be no reoccupation of Gaza, that there be no changing of the territorial lines in Gaza, that there be a — an ability to have security in the region for all concerned in a way that we create stability — and let’s — let us also recognize, in a way that ensures that Iran is not empowered in this whole scenario in terms of the peace and stability of the region.

But absolutely, the U- — the — the United States of America absolutely has a role, which is why we have been active, in particular, with the Qataris and the Egyptians around attempting to get a deal done and get it done as quickly as possible.

Q    Madam Vice President, just to — to follow up really quickly.  Is there a specific policy change that you, as vi- — as president of the United States, would say you would do that would help this along?  Because, you know, you’ve gotten a lot of credit for emphasizing the humanity of Palestinians.  But what I often hear from folks is that there’s no policy change that would — that — that either you or the president — President Biden have gone and said they would do.

Is there a specific policy change, as president, that you would do in our helping of Israel —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We need to get —

Q    — in this war?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — this deal done, and we need to get it done immediately — 

Q    But in the way that —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and that is my position, and that is my policy.  We need to get this deal done.

Q    But in the way that we send weapons, in the way that we interact as their ally, are there specific policy changes?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, Eugene, for example, one of the things that we have done that I am co- — entirely supportive of is the pause that we’ve put on the 2,000-pound bombs.  And so, there is some leverage that we have had and used.

But ultimately, the thing that is going to unlock everything else in that region is getting this deal done.  And I can — I’m not going to disclose private conversations, but I will tell you I’ve had direct conversations with the prime minister, with the president of Israel, with Egyptian leaders, and with our allies.  And I think we’ve made ourselves very clear: This deal needs to get done in the bent- — best interest of everyone in the region, including getting those hostages out, who — I mean, we saw the — the latest example of what happened with the — the six most recently, one of whom was an American citizen.

Q    But what do you say to those that say that’s not enough, that stopping the 2,000-pound bombs the one time wasn’t enough, that this administration and your possible administration has to do more?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, we are doing the work of putting the pressure on all parties involved to get the deal done.  But let me be very clear, also: I support Israel’s ability to defend itself, and I support the need for Palestinians to have dignity, self-determination, and security as we move forward and get a two-state deal done. 

But right now, the thing we need to get done is this hostage deal and the ceasefire deal.  We need a ceasefire.  We need the hostage deal.

 Q    I want to switch gears to racial justice, Madam Vice President.  Last month, you eulogized Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    Jackson Lee’s signature bill, one of a few, was H.R.40, which would create a commission to study the history of U.S. slavery and study the issue of reparations.  She introduced H.R.40 every session of Congress, taking up the mantle from Congressman John Conyers.  This is a bill that you have cosponsored as a U.S. senator. 

Yet this has — despite the fact that this has been sir- — similar commissions have been created on the state level and on the local level, it’s yet to pass in Congress, let alone come out of committee.  Congresswoman Jackson Lee, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and other advocates have called for President Biden to take executive action to ins- — to take — to create this commission.  Would you, as president, take executive action to create this commission, or do you believe that it should happen in Congress?

 THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, I just — as you mentioned, Sheila Jackson Lee — she was an extraordinary leader, who we just recently lost, and — and she was a friend and a real champion for so many issues.  So, I feel compelled to say that about her.

On the issue of what we need to do going forward.  Look, first of all, we just need to speak truth about history, in spite of the fact that some people would try and erase history and try and teach our children otherwise.  We need to speak truth about the generational impact of our history, in terms of the generational impact of slavery, the generational impact of — of redlining, of Jim Crow law- — I could go on and on and on.

     These are facts that have had impact, and we need to — we need to speak truth about it, and we need to speak truth about it in a way that is about driving solutions.

     And frankly, I think that we — you know, and part of that is — is studying it to figure out exactly what we need to do.  But part of what we can do right now is, for example, what I’m talking about in terms of building an opportunity economy, which is addressing explicitly the obstacles that historically and currently exist and dealing with them: student loan debt; medical debt; bias in home appraisals; what we need to do in terms of dealing with an issue that I have championed for years, Black maternal mortality, which is the fact that Black women are three to four times more likely to die in connection with childbirth than other women, and we know that the reasons for that include disparities that preexist her pregnancy, including disparities that exist in the system during her pregnancy. 

     So, all of those things must be addressed.

     Q    Do you have a position on whether that should happen — this commission should happen through executive order or via Congress?

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I — I think Congress ultimately will have the ability to do this work.  I’m not discounting the importance of — of any executive action.  But ultimately, Congress — because if you’re going to talk about it in any substantial way, there will be hearings, there will be

a level of public education and dialogue that — and I think that was part of the — the spirit behind the congressional action thus far, to ensure that everyone can participate in this conversation in a way that elevates knowledge about history and the reference points that have — that are the impetus of this conversation.

     Q    Madam Vice Pre- —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Especially, again, when people are trying to deny history; when people — our, you know, so-called leaders are saying that enslaved people benefited from slavery.  I mean, let’s talk about the delta here in terms of the work that needs to be done.  It’s profound.

Q    Madam Vice President, I want to move to Springfield, Ohio, and what’s happening there. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    We’ve seen school closures —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    — parents worried about their kids leaving the home because of racist conspiracy theories that I won’t repeat here.  But they have been repeated by leaders on the Republican side: President Trump, vice president- — excuse me, former President Trump, vice — (laughs) — and vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance.

From your perspective, is this just a case of irredeemable racism that can’t be mitigated by any rational action, or is this a situation in which a federal response could help this community heal?  Is it a question of resources and —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, n- — I — I’ll let you finish, and then I’ll speak. 

Q    No, please.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It’s a crying shame.  I mean, my heart breaks for this community.  You know, there were children — elementary school children who it was — it was school photo day — you remember what that’s like, going to school on picture day? — who were dressed up in their best, got all ready, knew what they were going to wear the night before, and had to be evacuated.  Children.  Children.  A whole community put in fear.

And I’ll say a couple things about it.  One, you know, I learned a long time ago in my career, having a background as a prosecutor, when you have these positions, when you have that kind of microphone in front of you, you really ought to understand at a very deep level how much your words have meaning.  I learned at a very young stage of my career

that the meaning of my words could impact whether somebody was free or in prison. 

As attorney general, I was — of California, the fifth largest economy in the world — I was acutely aware that my words could move markets. 

When you are bestowed with a microphone that is that big,

there is a profound responsibility that comes with that that is an extension of what should not be lost in this moment, this concept of the public trust, to then understand what the public trust means.  It means that you have been invested with trust to be responsible in the way you use your words, much less how you conduct yourself — and especially when you have been and then seek to be again president of the United States of America.

And so, I go back to it’s a crying shame, literally, what’s happening to those families, those children in that community, not to mention what is happening in terms of — look, you say you care about law enforcement — law enforcement resources being put into this because of these serious threats that are being issued against a community that is living a productive, good life before this happened, and — and spewing lies that are grounded in tropes that are age-old.

And, look, I said it not very far from here the other day at the debate.  This is not new.  This is not new in terms of these tropes.  This is not new in terms of where it’s coming from.

And, you know, whether it is refusing to rent to people, rent to Black families; whether it is taking out a full-page ad in The New York Times against five innocent Black and Latino teenagers, the Central Park Five, calling for their execution; whether it is referring to the first Black president of the United States with a lie, birther lies —

And, look, the American people deserve and, I do believe, want better than this.  I do believe that.  I know — I know the vast majority of us as Americans know we have so much more in common than what separates us.  I know that.  I know that regardless of someone’s background, their race, their gender, their geographic location — I know that people are deeply troubled by what is happening to that community in Springfield, Ohio.  And it’s got to stop. 

And we’ve got to say that you cannot be entrusted

with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country, is designed to have people pointing fingers at each other.  It’s designed to do that.

And I think most people in our country, regardless of their race, are starting to see through this nonsense and — and to say, “You know what?  Let’s turn the page on this.”  This is exhausting and it’s harmful and it’s hateful and — and grounded in some age-old stuff that we should not have the tolerance for.

So, let’s turn the page and chart a new way forward and say, “You can’t have that microphone again.”

Q    Madam Vice President, I’m switching gears again.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.

Q    Quick question.  I want to talk to you about gun control. 

So, you’ve said you support an assault weapons ban and universal background checks.  And we actually learned during the debate that you are a gun owner.  But in cities like Philadelphia, handguns are responsible for most homicides and violent crime.  The most recent FBI data shows handguns were involved in 59 percent of murders in our country. 

How will you address the issue of the use of handguns?  Because a push for an assault weapons ban only addresses a significant but small part of the problem.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, first of all, yes, I am a gun owner.  And Tim Walz is a gun owner.  And we’re not trying to take anybody’s guns away from them.  But we do need an assault weapons ban. 

Assault weapons are designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly and have no place —

Q    I ask an assault weapons ban — yes.   

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and have no pla- — I’m going to get to it.

Q    Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And have no place on the streets of a civil society. 

We need universal background checks, which, to your point about handguns, is about saying that it is just reasonable to want reasonable gun safety laws that say we should do background checks, that we ought to know — it’s just reasonable — you might want to know, before someone can buy a lethal weapon, if they’ve been found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others.  You might just want to know.  And then un- —

Q    And, respectfully, we do understand that.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But you —

Q    Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You’re asking about — you’re asking —

Q    I’m asking specifically about handguns, because many of those handguns are purchased in places —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Universal background checks —

Q    Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — apply to handguns.

Q    Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  They do.  And —

Q    But in many instances, those handguns aren’t even bought lawfully, yes. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Which is why I also have been very adamant for years — in fact, I myself protested at a gun show probably 10, 15 years ago about the gun show loophole and why we need to close that.  Because what ends up happening is that gun shows at flea markets, gun dealers are not, under existing law in the past, required to register their sales. 

And so, you are exactly right that a lot of homicides, for example, a good number — I don’t have the — the st- — statistic in front of my mind — are committed with illegally purchased guns.  And that’s why we need to address each entry point in the issue, including universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and what we need to do as a general matter to focus not only on reaction to crime but prevention of crime. 

So, you’re raising a very important issue that has many facets, including what we need to do in terms of reasonable gun safety laws and what we need to do around crime prevention, what we need to do around crime deterrence.

But, listen, I have personally prosecuted homicide cases.  I have held the mo- — hands of mothers who have come to me crying, who have said, “I only want to talk to Kamala,” because they knew, when they sat down, I would treat them with the dignity and respect that they were entitled and due about the loss of their child — often, their son — to gun violence and the need to take it seriously.

And we must take it seriously in every way, understanding it’s not just about a sound bite; it’s about a comprehensive approach that deals with the tragedy of, to your point, everyday gun violence in America.  It’s real. 

It has had a profound impact in terms of trauma that, for the most part, has gone undiagnosed and untreated.  The trauma that exists in communities around the violence of losing their children, losing a brother, losing a father, an uncle — all of that must be addressed, and we have to have a holistic response to it.

Q    Are there things we haven’t thought about yet?  Because every time we bring up this issue of gun violence, universal background checks comes up and an a- — a ban on assault weapons.  Are there other solutions that you’re also thinking about that will get at this issue?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Absolutely.  For example, part of what we did with — so, we — in — as vice president, with — with the president, we were able to pass the first meaningful gun safety legislation in 30 years.  And part of what that involved was millions and millions of dollars to put more mental health counselors in public schools.  Right?  Because we know that there is an aspect of this that is about treating the trauma and — and dealing with it at its source before it ends up manifesting itself in a problem. 

There is the work that we need to do that is about putting resources into communities around violence prevention.  I’ve been a big advocate of that for years, which includes what we need to do around putting resources into community-based intervention that is not just requiring on the good people in the community to volunteer to do the intervention but actually paying people to do it because it’s a full-time job. 

It’s about understanding what we need to do to, again, understand that, to your point, we have to have a holistic response to this issue and prioritize it, instead of reacting to the tragedy that, sadly, they are too predictable.  Let’s all agree: Enough of that.  We — there are very few solutions that we haven’t thought of. 

Q    Yeah.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We need to re- — put the resources into them.

Q    Madam Vice President, we want to move to the topic of reproductive access —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    — something that you have worked in leading on, both for the administration, Democrats, and — and now the top of the ticket.  You’ve said that, as president, you would want to codify Roe.  If it came to your desk, you would sign a bill —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    — that did that.  Roe protected access until fetal viability, which it also says is, quote, “at about seven months, but it may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks.” 

So, do you similarly support also codifying Roe’s restrictions, which allowed states to ban abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy, unl- — unless necessary to save the mother’s life?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We need to put the protections of Roe v. Wade back into law.  And when that bill gets passed by Congress, I will proudly sign it into law.

Understand what is happening in our country.  Over 20 states have passed what I call Trump abortion bans, because u- — understand how we got here.  The former president handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade.  They did as he intended, and in state after state, laws have been passed criminalizing health care providers. 

I don’t know if anyone here has heard, most recently, the stories out of Georgia — tragic story about a young woman who died because it appears the people who should have given her health care were afraid they’d be criminalized after the — the Dobbs decision came down.

Laws that make no exception even for rape or incest, which means that you’re telling a survivor of a crime of a violation to their body that they have no right to make a decision about what happens to their body next, which is immoral. 

The — an approach that doesn’t take into account that most people, I think, agree you don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.  If she chooses, she will talk with her pastor, her priest, her rabbi, her imam.  But it should not be the government or Donald Trump telling her what to do about her own body and her life.

So, that’s where I stand.  We need to put back in place the protection of Roe v. Wade and put that into law —

Q    And those re- — and those restrictions that are also in Roe?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We need to put back in protect- — in place the protections of Roe v. Wade and let an individual, in consultation with her doctor, make the decision based on what she can determine, because she’s smart enough to know what’s in her best interest, instead of having her government tell her what to do — especially a bunch of people in these state capitals who think they’re in a better position to tell her what to do than she is to know what’s in her best interest.

Q    Before we conclude, Madam Vice President, “joyful warrior” has been used to describe your campaign.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You didn’t see that just a minute ago, though.  (Laughter.)  

Q    And —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  I’m back to my joyful part.  (Laughs.) 

Q    And your — you opponent and Republicans have, at times, weaponized you laughing in — in campaign ads, for example.  Wh- — why is joy important to you to insert into this election?  And what do you make of — of Republicans using that as a way to suggest that you’re not a serious candidate?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, sometimes, I think — and I’ll say to whoever the young people are who are watching this: There are some times when your adversaries will try and turn your strength into a weakness.  Don’t you let them.  Don’t you let them.

I find joy in the American people.  I find joy in optimism, in what I see to be our future and our ability to invest in it.  I find joy in the ambition of the people.  I find joy in the dreams of the people.  I find joy in building community.  I find joy in building coalitions.  I find joy in believing that the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you beat down but who you lift up.

And — and I think we should all find joy and have a sense of optimism about who we are as Americans and what we mean to each other and what we can do to lift each other up.

Q    Madam Vice President —

Q    Madam — yeah.

Q    — did you — President Biden spoke to former President Trump after the attempt on his life this weekend.  Did — have you spoken to him?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I have.

Q    And — earlier today, I assume?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

Q    How’d that go?  You want to give us some intel?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Sure.  I — I checked on him to see if he was okay.

Q    Yeah.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I told him what I have said publicly: There is no place for political violence in our country.  I am in this election, in this race for many reasons, including to fight for our democracy.  And in a democracy, there — there is no place for political violence.  We can and should have healthy debates and discussion and disagreements but not resort to violence to — to resolve those issues.

Q    On January 6, your vehicle was allowed to kind of — passed a viable pipe bomb.  We’ve seen these —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  No, I was in the building.

Q    You were in the building.

Q    You were in the building?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Uh-huh. 

Q    And we’ve seen what’s happening with former President Trump.  Do you have full confidence in the Secret Service —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I do.

Q    — to protect all of you?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I do.

Q    You — you feel safe, you and your family?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:   I do. 

But, I mean, you can go back to Ohio.  Not everybody has Secret Service.  And there are far too many people in our country right now who are not feeling safe.  I mean, I look at Project 2025, and I look at, you know, like the “Don’t Say Gay” laws coming out of Florida.  Members of the LGBTQ community don’t feel safe right now.  Immigrants or people with an immigrant background don’t feel safe right now.  Women don’t feel safe right now.

And so, yes, I feel safe.  I have Secret Service protection, but that doesn’t change my perspective on the importance of fighting for the safety of everybody in our country and — and doing everything we can to, again, lift people up and not beat people down so they feel alone and are made to feel small and made to feel like they’re somehow not a part of it or us.

Q    Madam Vice President, thank you so much for your time.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.

Q    Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’ve appreciated this.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you all.  Take care.  Thank you.

                   END                     3:13 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Conversation with the National Association of Black Journalists | Philadelphia, PA appeared first on The White House.

When people think about migration, they often think about it as a problem that starts and stops at our border, but in fact it is a global problem. 

As a result, this significant domestic policy issue is also a foreign policy and national security issue.  

And, like all tough matters of foreign policy and national security, it requires close coordination with our key partners.

Intensive bilateral and multilateral international engagement is core to the Biden-Harris Administration’s approach to ensuring American safety and security across a range of issues, including migration management. 

Which is why over two years ago, at the Summit of the Americas in Southern California in June 2022, President Biden brought 20 heads of state together from across the Western Hemisphere to launch the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.

At the time, we were confronting new migration patterns fueled by pandemic-induced economic disruptions, climate change, and repression in the region by autocratic leaders like Venezuela’s Nicholas Maduro, resulting in an unprecedented number of people on the move.

To tackle this challenge, the Los Angeles Declaration calls on all partner countries to invest in three mutually-reinforcing efforts:

• First, strengthening enforcement and disrupting the smuggling networks that profit off of vulnerable migrants.

• Second, expanding lawful pathways to provide opportunities for people to move safely and legally, as an alternative to risk-filled unlawful migration; and

• Third, fostering long-term stabilization and integration of migrants, while continuing to address the root causes of migration.

Today, I will talk about the ways in which we have collectively advanced these three, interdependent pillars of the Los Angeles Declaration.

First, we have used our immigration and law enforcement tools to deter unlawful migration and hold those who exploit vulnerable migrants accountable.

Over the past decade, we have seen transnational criminal organizations increasingly profit off of migrants.  This pattern of exploitation is on vivid display in the Darien Gap – a treacherous mountain range and jungle connecting Colombia and Panama – where record numbers of migrants have paid smugglers to take them on harrowing journeys. 

I saw this heartbreaking phenomenon first hand when I traveled there in 2022, and I can tell you that what is happening in the Darien is both a humanitarian and ecological crisis. 

At home, we have taken of a series of steps to deter this kind of migratory movement by significantly strengthening the consequences facing those who arrive at our border unlawfully, within the constraints of current law.

Under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, we have:

• Surged law enforcement personnel and resources to the border;

• Adopted new rules and processes to streamline and incentivize lawful migration, while disincentivizing unlawful migration;

• Mobilized resources to increase investigations, arrests, and prosecutions of human smuggling and trafficking networks;

• Imposed visa restrictions and financial sanctions on criminal smuggling networks in the region; and

• Increased repatriation flights in order to return migrants more quickly.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have also repeatedly called on Congress to play its part and update our outdated asylum laws that no longer match the realities of our times and provide more resources so that we can do more to manage our border effectively. 

Last year, the President directed his team to work with a bipartisan group of Senators to craft a tough and fair set of border reforms consistent with both our values and interests – including funding for 1,500 additional border personnel and more than 4,000 additional asylum officers to more quickly remove people encountered at the border who cross without authorization.

Unfortunately, the opposition to this constructive and comprehensive legislation was fierce, and it was twice voted down.  As a result, President Biden had no choice but to take decisive executive actions on June 4 of this year to restrict asylum at the border during times of elevated encounters.  These actions have led to a more than 50 percent reduction in unlawful entries at our border since June.

In the meantime, throughout our Administration, we have invested heavily in building strong multidimensional regional partnerships, in recognition that we cannot solve this problem alone:

• We have worked with countries across the region to launch new visa policies with significant results.  In July, for example, Ecuador announced it was imposing visas on Chinese nationals, which helped reduce the number of these individuals arriving in and transiting Panama by 95 percent.  In August Brazil imposed restrictions on the entry of Indian nationals along with other nationalities.

• We have also entered into biometric information-sharing agreements with countries throughout the region – enabling us to identify and prevent the travel of criminal actors before they arrive at our borders.

• Countries such as Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica have also significantly increased repatriations of migrants, returning them early in their journeys north before they reach the United States.

Among all of these countries, our neighbor Mexico has been an essential partner in our endeavors to understand the mobility of people in our Hemisphere and address the challenges we face with humanity and discipline. 

Early on, President Biden established a relationship of mutual respect with his Mexican counterpart President Lopez Obrador, and he asked me to worked closely with Mexican counterparts to develop and scale cooperation at the strategic, operational, and policy levels in pursuit of our joint interests across a range of security issues – from migration to fentanyl to arms trafficking.

And we see the results.  For example, as Mexico increased resources and personnel devoted to enforcement and limited the unsafe use of trains and buses by migrants, we saw the number of unlawful migrants at our border decrease dramatically. 

This created a deterrent effect that benefited Mexico and other partners in the region that were also coping with large influxes of migrants that overwhelmed their border management systems.   

And that brings me to the second element of our three-pronged approach to managing migration: expanding lawful pathways. 

We have paired our enforcement efforts with the establishment of viable, legal alternatives – giving migrants a safe, orderly and lawful option to choose over an unlawful and unsafe one. 

And we have done this in concert with our regional partners such as Mexico; they have opened up legal pathways as well and together we have innovated to develop new approaches as circumstances presented us with unprecedented situations.

• For example, following Russia’s February 2022 invasion in Ukraine, we started to see large numbers of Ukrainian migrants arrive at our southwest border, seeking refuge in response to Putin’s unprovoked act of war.

• In response, the Department of Homeland Security launched a novel initiative that enabled Ukrainian nationals to register in Europe via a tablet-based application.  If they confirmed they had U.S.-based supporters, they could secure permission to fly directly to the United States with lawful permission for arrival at a port of entry. 

• When coupled with strong enforcement at the southwest border, the number of Ukrainians showing up irregularly at our southwest border plummeted to near zero almost overnight.

• We adopted a similar model with the Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) parole process.  In this innovative process that began in the fall of 2022, we established a balance.  For a certain number of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who applied to the program from the region, were fully vetted, and had confirmed U.S.-based supporters, we offered permits for lawful arrival and temporary work authorization.  However, we made clear throughout the Hemisphere that those CHNV nationals who came unlawfully and neglected the procedures we established would be swiftly returned – and negotiated arrangements with our partners to conduct those returns.  This program also resulted in an immediate, significant decrease in border encounters of those nationalities.

• As part of President Biden’s broader four-year effort to rebuild our refugee resettlement program, we launched the Safe Mobility Initiative, with offices now across the region in Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.  Migrants can go to these centers to be screened for protection claims and access lawful pathways, without having to make a further journey.

• In part because of this initiative, the U.S. Government has increased the number of refugees resettled from this region from just 4,000 in 2022 to over 30,000 this year.

Together, these efforts have helped steer migrants away from dangerous unlawful routes – saving lives and, over time, substantially reducing flows to our border while creating an orderly process that incentivizes lawful entry.

Under the auspices of the Los Angeles Declaration, countries all over the region have stepped up to provide lawful pathways that complement ours and strengthen the incentive structure.

Mexico and Canada have both made new commitments, as part of the Los Angeles Declaration framework, to provide temporary work visas to help fill labor gaps.

And in May of this year, we launched Labor Neighbors – a bold new idea as part of the Safe Mobility Initiative – to help countries with significant labor needs to attract workers.

The goal of this initiative is to build a regional and ultimately global matching system, optimally one that is app based, establishing a virtual clearinghouse for workers who can be linked to job opportunities in advance of their movement across the Hemisphere and beyond.

The third dimension of our approach focused on stabilization and integration efforts in the region.

The unprecedented size of the massive exodus from Venezuela, the largest migrant movement of a single population in the Hemisphere’s history, has highlighted the criticality of this work.

Our partners throughout South America have stepped up to help absorb – and provide stability to – so many of these individuals.

There is a largely untold story happening in this region that is remarkable.

Over half of the Los Angeles Declaration partner countries have provided legal status and helped integrate more than 4.4 million Venezuelan migrants into their communities.  And they continue to do so.

Four countries in South America – Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru – are hosting over 80 percent of the Venezuelan migrants within Latin America.

Colombia led the way by providing 10-year legal status to over two million migrants, most of whom are Venezuelan, and recently announced an expansion to include parents of migrant children.

Others have stepped up as well.  Last month, Ecuador extended its regularization program to 200,000 additional migrants, enabling them to apply for formal jobs and fully integrate into their communities.  Brazil has pioneered a one-of-a-kind policy that matches migrants’ skills with labor needs all across the country.

And we’ve been right there to support them.  During this Administration, we have provided over $2.4 billion to support partner countries that are helping migrants as they put down roots, enroll their kids in school, and restart their lives in a new place.

Surveys indicate that those who have legal status and opportunities in the countries where they reside tend to stay put.  In fact, the International Organization for Migration has reported that only about 1.2 percent of Venezuelans transiting the Darien Gap between June 2022 and June 2023 had a residency permit of some kind – demonstrating that legal status in a third country significantly reduces onward migration toward our border.

And the research also shows significant economic benefits of migrant integration for host countries.  The International Monetary Fund estimated that integrating Venezuelan migrants could add 4.5 percent to host countries’ GDPs in the next decade.  As just one example, in Bogota, the arrival of 600,000 Venezuelans migrants has created 9,000 formal businesses and generated 188,000 new jobs.  90 percent of working-age Venezuelans in Colombia are employed and Venezuelan migrants contributed over $500 million to the Colombian economy in 2022. 

Building on his legacy as Vice President, President Biden has also been firmly committed since the beginning of his Presidency to supporting economic development and democratic governance throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in order to generate stability, economic opportunity and hope for the future. 

We know, from years of experience, that individuals who are hopeful about their futures in their homelands are much more likely to remain there and much less likely to migrate.  And Vice President Harris’s leadership in addressing the root causes of migration from Northern Central America has been a critical element of this effort.

During the Biden-Harris Administration, we have worked hard to craft a Hemispheric system of burden sharing that creates incentives for individual and collective action to manage 21st century migration flows. 

Although we have made substantial progress, as with all complex challenges, especially at the intersection of foreign and domestic policy, there is more to be done.

We have sought to adapt existing tools and we have created new ones, including innovative frameworks like the Los Angeles Declaration, to disincentivize unlawful migration and incentivize pathways that create a safe and orderly flow to our borders. 

If you take one thing away from these remarks, it should be that sustained success in this vital endeavor will require us to maintain strong ongoing partnerships with countries across the region and around the world.

The post Remarks by Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall on Implementing the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace appeared first on The White House.

12:01 P.M. EDT
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Okay? 

I’m about to receive a briefing on everything we’re doing to support the people and communities threatened by these horrific wildfires.  And they’re — and they’re devastating. 
 
I — as I was saying to my staff before you came in, since I’ve been president, I’ve flown over more of these wildfires — from Arizona to Idaho and Montana and all that whole crescent — than makes up the entire state of Maryland burned to the ground. 
 
And — and there’s a lot that has to be s- — we’re not going to be able to speak to all of it tonight, but — today, but we’re going to talk a little bit about California and — and what’s going on in Oregon as well.
 
Nationwide, nearly 37,000 — 37,000 wildfires burning over 7.3 million acres, more land than some of the states that we occupy. 

In California, they have three major wildfires destroying homes and displacing thousands of people — I mean, thousands of people. 
 
In Oregon, there’s nearly 1.8 million acres burned.  And it sounds like it’s something good when you say it’s a record, but it’s a bad state record.  It’s real.
 
And my administration is working closely around the clock to control these fires and protect our people, but it’s always a matter of resources.  And I look forward to this briefing from key members of my administration, who’ve been working like hell on this, and two frontline governors.
 
And, by the way, what I’d like to do is I’d like to make the — we’ve raised the pay to $29 an hour.  I want to make that permanent for the fire- — these firefighters.  Anyway.
 
So, that’s what we’re going to be talking about, folks.  And thank you for making the effort to come in.  Appreciate it.
 
12:03 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden Before Briefing Regarding the Ongoing Wildfire Season Response and Federal Efforts to Reduce Wildfire Risk appeared first on The White House.

Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1:46 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Please — please have a seat.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

Now, look, I love Kamala — (applause) —

AUDIENCE:  Thank you, Joe!  Thank you, Joe!  Thank you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all.

AUDIENCE:  Thank you, Joe!  Thank you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  As the saying goes, you all brung me to the dance.  (Laughter.)

Folks, I want to get something straight at the outset.  I love Kamala — (applause) — but Delaware State is the best HBCU in America.  (Applause.)

They’re the ones — oh, you think I’m kidding?  I was a 29-year-old kid, and they embraced me.  They embraced me like you can’t imagine.  And we won — the second youngest person in American history — because of a HBCU called Delaware State.  (Applause.) 

And, by the way, I hired a young man from Delaware State named Tony Allen.  (Applause.)  Came to work for me.  While there, I encouraged him to continue to get his d- — extend his degree.  He got his doctorate and left.  He became president himself.  (Laughter.)

I don’t how the hell that happened so quick.  (Laughter.)  But, Tony, thank you, man.  I’ve been introduced countless times but never quite like that.  And I mean it, Tony.  From the bottom of my heart, I’m deeply moved.  By God’s grace, we were true friends, and Delaware State will always have a special place in my heart, for real. 

And to the presidents and administrators of our 101 Historic Black Colleges and Universities, it’s an honor to celebrate — and I mean celebrate — HBCU Week with you.  (Applause.)

Before I begin, I want to make a quick reference on the — on the — the attempted assassination against our former president in Florida yesterday. 

I commend the Secret Service for the expert handling of the situation.  (Applause.)  And the former president was protected from harm, and the subject is — and is — the subject is in custody.  And acting head of the Secret Service is in Florida today assessing what happened and determining whether any further adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of our former president. 

Let me just say: There is no — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart; those of you who know me — many of you do — no place in political violence — for political violence in America.  None.  Zero.  Never.  (Applause.)

I’ve always condemned political violence, and I always will.  In America — in America, we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun. 

America has suffered too many times the tragedy of an assassin’s bullet.  It solves nothing and just tears the country apart.  We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen. 

Folks, now to today’s event. 

It’s an honor to recognize HBCU excellence in our nation.  I see excellence in it every single day.  I see it this weekend at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation — (applause) — I tell you what — the foundation gala — only about 3,500 people there.  (Laughter.)  And I was happy — and I’ve been wanting to do this — to celebrate the first-ever White House brunch to celebrate Black excellence — Black excellence — (applause) — which many of you and your alumni attended.  It’s about trying to point out what’s already been done.

I’m proud to have the most diverse administration in history that taps into the full — (applause) — I mean it.  I made a commitment: My administration was going to look like America.  It taps into the full talents of our nation, including graduates of HBCUs, like our amazing vice president is.  (Applause.)

Folks, together, Kamala and I know that an education makes a person free.  HBCU’s education makes you fearless, as well.  It matters.  (Applause.)  I mean it.

More than 180 years, born under the shadow of slavery and Jim Crow, HBCUs have instilled a sense of purpose and freedom, a commitment to make a difference for all their students; to lift up not just yourselves but others along the way.  Institutions grounded in the belief that every American of every race and every background, every zip code — and you know me; I mean this — should have a fair and equal chance to go as far as their God-given talents can take them.  (Applause.)  That’s who we are.  That’s what we stand for.

But as I’ve said before, we face an inflection point in history.  It comes along every six or seven generations.  One of those rare moments in our history when the deci- — when the decisions we make now — right now — are going to determine the fate of our nation and the world for the next decades — for six, seven decades to come.  And I mean it. 

When I wasn’t going to run for president again after my son died coming back from Iraq, I decided that I was going to write another book.  I was going to write a book about the inflection points in world history, how it changed history, going all the way back to dealing with the printing press and how it’s changed everything.

But, look, we’re still in the battle — we’re still in the battle for the very soul of America. 

In 2020, I ran — and I give you my word this was the reason.  I ran to redeem the soul of America, to restore decency and dignity to the office of the presidency.  (Applause.)  I ran to rebuild and expand the backbone of America: the middle class.  And I ran to unite the country and remind ourselves that we can do anything we want to do when we do it together. 

Four years later, we’ve made incredible progress, because Kamala and I kept our commitment to you to ensure that all our students and all of our college and universities should be able to succeed.  That’s why I signed an executive order reestablishing the White House Initiative on HBCUs after my predecessor allowed it to lapse. 

Thank you, Dr. Trent, for leading it.  (Applause.)  I can’t see you out there, but I’m sure you’re there. 

And thank you, Tony and Dr. Glover, for leading my presidential board on HBCUs.  (Applause.)

I’m also proud to lead the first administration in history to have a working group from the Divine Nine in the White House.  (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I — I got it, man.  I may — may be a white boy, but I ain’t stupid.  (Laughter and applause.)  I figured out real quick.  (Laughter.)  And, by the way, as an official group in the White House. 

Together, we get to work — we got to work right away with our signature investment in addressing one of the most pressing issues for HBCUs.  We all know — and I mean this sincerely — that HBO — HBCU students are just as capable as any other students.  (Applause.)  No, but — but HBCUs don’t have the endowments like many other college and universities that are able to fund research labs, improve campus infrastructure, and so much more. 

That’s why I’m proud to be delivering on a record $17 billion — (applause) — $17 billion for HBCUs — the most ever any administration has ever, ever, ever, ever committed.  (Applause.) 

Stay where you were. 

And we’ve already distributed well over a billion. 

Folks, look, I want to make something clear at the outset.  If you notice, the spending we’ve done —

I asked them to hold back there.

But the spending we’ve done has not fundamentally increased the deficit like that other guy did.  (Laughter.)  It — no, no, seriously.  It grows the economy. 

The more educated — how can we lead the world without being the most educated nation in the world?  How can we lead the world without reaching out to the young people of this country to improve their capacity?

You know, it’s helped everything from — HBCUs to do everything from providing financial aid via Pell Grants to building new housing and research labs to prepare Black students for jobs and industries of the future in high-demand fields like cybersecurity, engineering, biochemistry, health care, and so much more. 

But that’s not all.  Together, we spearheaded one of the most sig- — equitable economic recoveries in history.  

How — as I said, how can we be the strongest economy in the world and lead the world without the best education system, without — taps into the talents of every student in our — I mean, every student?

In fact, my Council of Economic Advisers issued a report this spring on the economic power of HBCUs.  Here’s what they found.  They found HBUs — HBCUs are engines of economic mobility in our country, raising the standard of living for everybody.  For real.  Despite representing only 3 percent of the college and universities in America, HBCUs are responsible for 40 percent of all Black engineers — (applause); 50 percent of all Black teachers — (applause); 70 percent of all [Black] doctors and dentists — (applause); and 80 percent of all Black judges, and I’m increasing that number too.  (Applause.)  

But that’s not all.  My CHIPS and Science Act, which I was committed to — finally got it done — will ensure we create more hubs of innovation at HBCUs, create pathways to develop more researchers, and grow a diverse semiconductor workforce here at home.  (Applause.)

For example, I was in New York where I announced a significant chips investment in — with Micron, a leading semiconductor company, that parented and partnered with Norfolk State University — (applause) — to build a 6,000-square-foot high-tech facility for students and other researchers. 

My National Science Foundation just awarded $2 million to Clark Atlanta University — (applause) — to support their work in the HBCU CHIPS Network, fueling semiconductor research and development and a workforce capacity at HBCUs.  This is in addition to last week’s announcement of $10.5 million for National Science Foundation grants to facilitate STEM research at more than a dozen HBCUs — (applause) — including Central State University, a project to build a semiconductor R&D capacity.

I’m also excited to announce that four HBCUs — Fort Valley State University — (applause); Rust College; Savannah State University; and Shaw University — (applause) — are receiving additional critical funding to boost their STEM programs, prepare their students for these incredible opportunities.  (Applause.)  And moving forward, I’ve encouraged semiconductor companies to continue to create and expand partnerships with HBCUs as they invest in American manufacturing. 

And Vice President Harris and the National Space Council she leads are ensuring the federal government inju- — industry partner and HB[C]Us collaborate on opportunities for space-related technologies and innovation — the future. 

And, folks, my Office of Science and Technology Policy is developing and sharing the best approaches across the entire government, how to expand STEM research and investments in HBCUs. 

In addition, my administration continues to diversify the federal workforce, starting by opening doors of opportunity like the HBCU Scholar Program — (applause) — that celebrates its 10th anniversary. 

I want to congratulate the 2024 cohorts of scholars — (applause) — the largest cohort, all of whom are with us.  Stand up, if you’re here.  (Applause.)  All right. 

If I’m still around when one of you are president, make sure you don’t say, “Who?  Joe who?”  Okay?  When you — (laughter). 

We also know that Black studies show Black students who have Black teachers are significantly more likely to graduate from high school and to enro- — we’ve known this for a long time — enroll in college. 

That’s why my Department of Ed- — of Education has provided $450 million to ensure that teachers in our schools reflect diversity in our co- — (applause).   These small things matter a lot.

For example, this funding has gone toward the Augustus F. Hawkins program, which is preparing the next generation of teachers at HBCUs.  We’re the first administration to secure funding for this program, providing almost $40 million to date. 

And today, I’m proud to announce four more HBCUs: Grambling State University.  (Applause.) 

Morehouse College.  Oh, I’m so tired of hearing about Morehouse, man.  (Laughter and applause.)  I did the commencement at Morehouse.  One grad came up and said — came up to me, “Mr. President, you’re not a Morehouse man.”  The closest I get was doing a — doing the commencement.  (Laughter.) 

North Carolina Central University.  (Applause.)

And Prairie View A&M University.  (Applause.)

They’re being awarded new grants to increase tea- — to increase teacher diversity. 

But we know that while a college degree is still a ticket to the middle class, that ticket is becoming too expensive.  That’s why we increased the maximum Pell Grant by $900 a year — (applause) — the largest increase in a decade.  It matters because HBCUs have twice the percentage of Pell Grant students as non-HBCUs. 

And my administration has also relieved the debt of 5 million Americans, including a significant number of Black borrowers.  (Applause.)  That means you can now start a business, you can buy a home, save for your children’s school, give back to your community. 

And it grows the economy for everybody.  It (inaudible) cost.  It grows the economy. 

There’s so much more we’re doing to help more HBU — HBCU students walk into a life of generational wealth and to be providers for their families, leaders of the communities, dreamers and doers of the nation.  In fact, in just four years working with HBCU leaders, we’re making the most significant investment in Black America ever in American history.  (Applause.)

But, look, we have to be honest about the forces we face.  We gather together in a year when we commemorate two of our nation’s most historic achievements: the 70th anniversary of Brown v. the Board of Educationthat desegregated our public schools.  It laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it [that] outlawed discrimination in employment and public places, and which we’ve just observed its 60th anniversary. 

Instrumental in both achievements was Thurgood Marshall, an alum of Lincoln University and Howard Law School — (applause) — by the way, Lincoln is closer to Wilmington than it is to Philly; I — (laughter) — been there many times — and generations of HB[C]U educators and students come — who came before. 

It opens the doors of hope and opportunity for a generation of Black Americans and for the entire United States of America.  It really does.

But today, affirmative action and the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are under attack like not long since I started as a young civil rights guy.  Books are being banned.  History is being erased.  HBUs — HBCUs have received bomb threats.  And right now, lies and hate are being spread about Haitian Amer- — Haitian Americans in Ohio.  It’s wrong.  It’s simply wrong, and it must stop. 

There are those who want a country for some of us but not for all of us.  But I’ve always believed that the promise of America — and I mean this sincerely — is big enough for everyone to succeed.  (Applause.)  No, I really mean it.  Everyone. 

And there’s been no more important voice for that truth than the Black community and our HBCUs.  That’s what I see in your students: future doctors and researchers curing cancer, artists shaping our culture, fearless journalists and intellectuals challenging convention, preachers and advocates inspiring us all. 

You prove that Black history is American history.  It is American history.  (Applause.)  And Black excellence is American excellence.  (Applause.)

Let me tell you something.  If I show up on your campus, you better be nice to me.  (Laughter and applause.)

Look, let me close with this.  Mary McLeod Bethune was the high- — (applause) — was highest-ranking Black woman in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration.  A pioneering educator, activist, she founded the proud HBCU Bu- — Bethune-Cookman University.  And here’s what she said.  She said, “The freedom gates are half-ajar.  We must pry them fully open.”  (Applause.)  That’s what I’m trying to do: pry them fully open. 

For over 180 years, HB[C]Us have been prying open freedom’s gates.  For the past four years, Kamala and I, with the help of all you and great leaders out there in — sitting that I served with in the — the Congress and the Senate, are pushing right alongside them.  And God willing, as a HBCU graduate, the future president of the United States is going to soon be sitting behind the Resolute Desk pushing the gates of freedom open once and for all.  (Applause.)

Folks, you’ve probably heard me say this before.  We just have to remember who the hell we are.  (Applause.)  No, I mean it.  We’re the United States of America.  There is nothing beyond our capacity when we act together — nothing, nothing, nothing.  (Applause.)  We’re the only nation in history that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went in.  That’s because of you, because of all of us.  We’re a diverse nation; therein lies our strength when we unite.

So, God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

Every time I’d walk out of my Grandfather Finnegan’s home up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he’d yell, “Joey, keep the faith.”  And my grandmother would yell, “No, Joey.  Spread it.”

Go spread the faith.  (Applause.)

2:07 P.M. EDT 

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Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Washington, D.C.

8:37 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, CBC.  (Applause.)  Hello, hello, hello. 

Please have a seat.  I’m honored to be with so many friends.  The CBC, you put your trust in me.  You’ve always had my back, and I’d never forget it. 

CBC chairman, Steven Horsford; Terri Sewell, CBC founding chair — foundation chair; and Leader Hakeem Jeffries.  (Applause.)  This evening’s performer and hosts: Fantasia, Sherri Shepherd, Roy Wood, Jr. — Roy has become a friend.  He did the White House Correspondents’ Dinner together, and he hosted the White House Juneteenth event. 

Yesterday, I was proud to host — and very proud, I mean it sincerely — the first-ever White House brunch celebration of Black excellence for — (applause) — more than 1,000 of you attended in this CBC week. 

And tonight, I’m honored to join your dinner tonight.  Congratulations to tonight’s honorees.  And thank you to all the CBC members, staff, and alumni, including those who serve across my administration, including the former chair and former HUD secretary, Marcia Fudge — (applause) — and especially — and especially our incredible vice president, Kamala Harris.  (Applause.)  Best decision I made.

We also keep in our prayers CBC titans most recently lost: Eddie Bernice Johnson, Donald Payne Jr., Sheila Jackson Lee.  (Applause.)  Their memories and their legacies, the legacy of the CBC, remind me of a parable in scri- — scripture: With just the smallest amount of faith the size of a mustard seed, anything — anything is possible.  Our dreams — our wildest dreams of our ancestors can take root and grow into a bountiful and beautiful harvest to come.  That’s what I want to talk to you about very briefly tonight — what I see in all of you. 

As I’ve said before, we face an inf- — inflection point.  It comes around every five or six generations — one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine — literally determine the fate of the nation and the world for decades to come.  We’re — continue to be in the battle for the very soul of America. 

In 2020, I ran for president to redeem the soul of America — to restore decency and some dignity to the office of the presidency.  (Applause.)  I ran to rebuild the backbone of America: the middle class.  And I ran to unite the country and remind ourselves, when we’re together, we — not a damn thing we can’t do.  (Applause.)

Together, in 2020, we started that work by protecting our democracy.  Kamala and I received 81 million votes in 2020 — (applause) — the most ever, led by Black voters all across America.  And Donald Trump lost and became a defeated president.  (Applause.)

In the past four years, we showed democracy can deliver for our people.  Donald Trump’s failed presidency eroded trust in whether democracy could meet the needs in the nation.  We know that trust was eroding long before he took office. 

What’s democracy if justice, opportunity, freedom are denied to too many people for too long? 

But Kamala and I made a commitment to you to prove that democracy is the way, to reject the zero-sum view of America that says, “If you win, I lose.  If you succeed, I fail.  If you get ahead, I fall behind” — maybe worst of all, “If I hold you down, I lift myself up” — instead of embracing the bigger and broader view of America: If any one of us do well, we all do well. 

With the help of the CBC, we went big and we went bold.  And, yes, the result — yes, we are better off today than we were four years ago.  (Applause.) 

And I’m being very sincere when I say a big reason why: The Congress boasts the highest number of Black members in American history.  (Applause.)  Together, we’ve delivered one of the most extraordinary four years of progress ever — a future harvest of endless possibilities. 

COVID no longer controls our lives.  Together, we spearheaded the most equitable economic recovery in American history, historic low Black unemployment, record growth in Black small businesses.  We put more money in the pockets, and we cut back on child poverty for Blacks in half.  (Applause.)

The racial wealth gap is the smallest in 20 years.  And we’re — we’re finally — I’ve been fighting for this a long, long time — we’re finally reconnecting Black neighborhoods that were cut off by old highways and dis- — disinvested decades ago. 

We’re removing every poisonous lead pipe in America so every child in America can drink clean water without fear of brain damage.  (Applause.)

We’re d- — we’re delivering affordable high-speed broadband so no child has to do their homework outside a McDonald’s parking lot.  (Applause.)

We’re protecting and expanding Obamacare.  And after all the years, I finally beat Big Pharma and significantly lowered drug prices for seniors.  (Applause.)  And before — before w- — too long, we’re going to make sure that’s available to every single person in America, not just seniors.

We’re putting homeownership within reach.  That’s how we build generational wealth.  (Applause.) 

We’re making the most significant investment ever in climate, including the most significant action on environment ever. 

We’ve relieved student debt for 5 million borrowers and a significant number of Black borrowers.  (Applause.) 

When I set out to do this a long time ago, finally got it done: We’re investing a record $17 billion in HBCUs.  (Applause.)

We took executive action on police reform and continue calling for the law to be written as the law of the land. 

We’ve started the process for reclassifying marijuana and pardoned thousands of convictions for mere possession, because no one should be jailed for simply — simply using marijuana or have a barrier to a job, housing, loans, or other opportunities because of that.  (Applause.)

And something I’m really proud of: Together, we put the first Black woman on the Supreme Court of the United States, as I promised I would.  (Applause.)

I’m excited to announce tonight that we’ve selected the first class of Fulbright-John Lewis Civil Rights Fellows — (applause) — who will learn how to establish and protect freedom and justice and equity not just at home but around the world. 

There’s so much more we’re doing to help people walk into a life of generational wealth, to be the providers for their families, leaders in their communities, dreamers and doings — doers of our nation. 

In fact, in just four years, with the leadership of the CBC, we’re making the most significant investments in Black America ever in all of American history.

But let’s be clear.  There are old ghosts in new garments trying to seize your power and extremists coming for your freedoms, making it harder for you to vote and have your vote counted; closing doors of opportunity; attacking affirmative action and the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion; banning books; erasing history. 

My predecesse- — my predecessor calls the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6th “patriots.”  But when peaceful protestors march for justice for George Floyd, Trump wanted to send in the military, but they wouldn’t go.  He says immigrants — Black and brown immigrants “poison the blood” of our country. 

Right now, his running mate is attacking Hara- — Haitian Americans in Ohio.  It’s wrong.  It’s got to stop.  (Applause.)  Any president should reject hate in America and incite — not incite it.

Folks, to win this battle for the soul of the nation, we have to preserve our democracy.  We must speak out against lies and hate told for power and profit.  We must show up.  We must look to the future. 

And I’m looking to you to help lead the way.  You’ve helped push us forward to be the country we say we are — a country of freedom, justice, and equality — proving that Black history is American history and Black excellence is American excellence.  (Applause.)

Let me close with this.  The Psalms teach us, and I quote, “I’ve been young, and now I’m old” — which is true — (laughter) — “and yet, I have not seen the righteous forsaken.”  “I have not seen the righteous forsaken.”  (Applause.)

In 1971, as a 28-year-old kid, I decided to run for the United States Senate because of segregation in my city — my state.  Thirteen Black members of Congress came together then to establish the Congressional Black Caucus.  That same year, a founding member of the CBC began exploring a historic run for president. 

I knew Shirley Chisholm.  I served with her.  (Applause.)  She was righteous.  She planted bushes full of mustard seed of faith.  In the course of the last 50 years, I’ve seen those seeds weather storm and strife and blossom into something amazing. 

I’ve served as vice president with the first Black president and a former CBC member.  (Applause.)  I am president alongside the first Black [vice] president and former CBC member.  And God willing, she will become the first woman of the Uni- — president of the United States of America.  (Applause.)  And Hakeem will become the first Black speaker of the House.  (Applause.)

But, folks, we have work to do.  So, my challenge to you is to keep the faith and do the work.  Because we know faith without works is dead.  (Applause.) 

In this moment, I think of what Shirley said.  She said, quote, “Freedom is an endless horizon, and there are many roads that lead to it.” 

For the last four years, I’ve been honored to stand by a true partner who has helped us lead to the horizon of freedom, a journey where character in public life still matters in America. 

Kamala Harris meets the highest standards of character.  I’ve served with her.  I know her.  I trust her.  And I’ll be proud to stand on the steps of the United States Capitol and watch her take the oath of office as president of the United States of America.  (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Kamala Harris, for the people.  (Applause.)

8:49 P.M. EDT 

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