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Burns Park
Ann Arbor, Michigan

7:41 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good evening, Ann Arbor!  (Applause.)  Good evening. 

Can we hear it for Tim Walz?  (Applause.)

Oh, it’s great to be back in Michigan.  How’s everybody doing?  (Applause.)  Go Blue!  (Applause.) 

So, let me just say about Tim Walz.  He’s been such an extraordinary running mate, and he will be an extraordinary vice president of the United States.  (Applause.)

And let me tell you why I love Coach Walz.  As he travels to every corner of our country, meeting with people in small towns, big to- — towns, everywhere in between, Cal- — Coach Walz is always bringing the joy.  He is always bringing the joy.  He cares about people.  He understands people.  He understands hard work.  And he understands what it means to be a leader who lifts people up instead of trying to beat people down.  That is Tim Walz.  (Applause.)

And, Ann Arbor, I can feel the joy tonight.  Thank you all so very much.  (Applause.)

And we have some other incredible leaders with us here tonight.  Mayor Taylor, thank you.  (Applause.)  Where’s — there you are.  Deputy County Executive Turfe, I thank you so very much.  (Applause.)  Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist.  (Applause.)  Representative Dingell, a champion for this community.  (Applause.)  And let’s also send Elissa Slotkin to the United States Senate.  (Applause.)  We need her in D.C.

And I also want to thank all the labor, elected, and community leaders who are here today.

And can we please hear it again for Maggie Rogers?  (Applause.)

All right.  We got business to handle.  (Laughter.) 

Okay.  So, Ann Arbor, I have a question for you.  Are we ready to do this?  (Applause.)

Are we ready to vote?  (Applause.)

Are we ready to win?  (Applause.)  Yes.  And we will win.  (Applause.)  And we will win. 

So, you just heard from the coach: Early voting has started here in Michigan.  You can vote early now through Sunday, November 3rd.  And we need you to vote early, Michigan, because we have just eight days to go — eight days left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. 

And as everybody here knows, this is going to be a tight race until the very end. 

So, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we like hard work.  (Applause.)  Hard work is good work.  Hard work is joyful work. 

And make no mistake, we will win.  We will win.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  We will win!  We will win!  We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:   Yes, we will. 

And we will win because together —

AUDIENCE:  We will win!  We will win!  We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we will win, yes.  Yes.  (Laughs.)

AUDIENCE:  We will win!  We will win!  We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We can keep going all night.  (Laughs.)

But one of the reasons we will win is because we are all in this together.  We are all in this together — people from every walk of life, understanding that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. 

And we here are fighting for the future.  (Applause.)  We are fighting for the future, and we understand the opportunity that we have before us to turn the page on the fear and divisiveness that have characterized our politics for a decade because of Donald Trump. 

We have an opportunity to turn the page and chart a new and joyful way forward where we tap into the ambitions — (applause) — and we will tap into the ambitions and the aspirations and the dreams of the American people.  (Applause.)

And let me tell you something.  As I travel our country, there is an overwhelming call for a fresh start — people from all walks of life.  And they are calling for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic and excited about what we can do together.  (Applause.) 

There is a yearning in our country for a president who will see you, who gets you, and who will fight for you.  (Applause.)

And, listen, hey, on the subject of Gaza.  Hey, guys — (the vice president waves to audience members) — I hear you.  On the subject of Gaza, we all want this war to end as soon as possible and get the hostages out.  And I will do everything in my power to make it so.  (Applause.)

And let’s be clear.  We are all here because we are fighting for a democracy and for the right of people to be heard and seen.  (Applause.)  We’re not about the enemy within.  We know we are all in this together.  That’s what we are fighting for.  (Applause.)

     And my whole career —

     AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.

     AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay, now I want each of you to shout your own name.  Do that — (laughter) — because it’s about all of us.  It’s about all of us. 

And, listen, I have fought my whole career to put the people first and to put the people above partisanship.  I never once asked in my career, “Are you a Democrat or are you a Republican?”  The only thing I ever asked is “How can I help you?  Are you okay?”  And that — (applause) — and that is a major difference between Donald Trump and me, and between the two extremely different visions that he and I have for our nation. 

His is focused on himself and the past.  Ours is focused on the future and it is focused on the people.  (Applause.)

So, together, we will build a future where we bring down the cost of living.  That will be my focus every single day as president, because while inflation is down and wages are up, prices are still too high.  You know it, and I know it. 

And unlike Donald Trump, who had $400 million handed to him on a silver platter — and don’t forget, he filed for bankruptcy six times, the great businessman — unlike him, I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood with a working mother who kept a strict budget and did everything she could to make sure that my sister and I had all we needed.  I come from the middle class, and I will never forget where I come from.  (Applause.)  Never.

And so, my commonsense plan will lower the prices you pay on everything from prescription medication to groceries to housing.  On the other hand, Donald Trump will raise costs on you and your family. 

In fact, independent economists have analyzed both of our plans and found mine will cut your costs and strengthen our economy, while his will increase inflation and lead to a recession by the middle of next year.  (Applause.)

And his agenda is laid out in Project 2025.  You know, I say everywhere —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I know we’ve got a lot of students here, and I have to tell you, I just find it really interesting that they put that — that thing in writing.  (Laughter.)  They put it in writing.  They — they bound it.  They published it.  They handed it out.  And then they expect we’re not going to talk about it?  Are you kidding me?  (Laughter.)

And when you read it, you will see it is a detailed and dangerous blueprint for what he plans to do if he is elected president.

Donald Trump will impose a 20 percent national sales tax on everyday, basic necessities, which economists have estimated will cost the average American family an additional $4,000 a year. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Contrast, on the other hand, I’m going to take on corporate price gouging.  I’ve done it before, and I will do it again.  (Applause.)  

Donald Trump will give massive tax cuts, like he did before, to billionaires and the biggest corporations.  He did it the last time.  He is going to do it again. 

I, on the other hand, will give middle-class tax cuts to hundred million Americans, including $6,000 for the first year of a child’s life, because I understand how that will lift America’s children out of poverty, which what — must be one of our highest goals.  (Applause.)

Donald Trump will get rid of the $35-a-month cap on insulin for our seniors. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He will cut Medicare and Social Security.  In fact, economists say he will bankrupt Social Security in the next six years. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And understand what that means.  So many of the seniors in America — that’s their only source of income.  That’s the only way they’re able to pay their rent and buy food. 

I have a plan to support our seniors, so they can grow older with dignity and so their families are not overwhelmed by the cost of home health care.  (Applause.)

On top of that, my plan will bring down the cost of housing; cut taxes for small businesses, because small businesses are the backbone of our economy — (applause); and lower health care costs, because I believe health care should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it.  (Applause.)

Donald Trump, on the other hand, intends to end the Affordable Care Act and take us back —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — which would take us back to a time when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  You remember what that was like?

Well, we are —

AUDIENCE:  Not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — not going back.  We are not going back.  We are not going back. 

AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We’re not going back.  We’re not going — and we’re not going back because we, together, will move forward to the future, because we believe in who we are and what is possible and because we know it is time to turn the page.  It is time to turn the page.  (Applause.)

Ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom, like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body — (applause) — and not have her government tell her what to do. 

And we all remember how we got here.  When Donald Trump was president, he hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And they did as he intended.  And now in America, one in three women lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban —

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — many with no exceptions, even for rape and incest. 

I was just in Texas the other day.  You know they provide prison for life for doctors and nurses and health care providers for providing care?  Prison for life.

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And no exceptions for a crime that is a violation of someone’s body, and then to tell that survivor of that violation, “You have no right to make a decision about what happens to your body next.”  That is immoral.  It is immoral.  (Applause.)  And I know we all 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.  (Applause.)  Not the government.

And, listen, you all have heard me say, I do believe Donald Trump to be an unserious man, but the consequences of him ever being president again are brutally serious — brutally serious.  Consider, on the topic we were just discussing, Donald Trump still refuses to acknowledge the pain and suffering he has caused.  He insists that, quote, “everyone” wanted for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Everyone wanted this?  Women are being denied care during miscarriages, some only being treated when they’ve developed sepsis.  They didn’t want this.  Couples trying to grow their family have been cut off in the middle of IVF treatments.  They didn’t want this.  The men of America are seeing their daughters and wives and sisters and mothers put at risk because their rights have been taken from them.  The men of America don’t want this.  (Applause.) 

And women have died because of these bans.  How could anyone say these folks wanted this? 

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

And I’m traveling our nation.  So, I have to tell everyone here: Across our nation, we are seeing a full-on assault on other and additional hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights, like the freedom to vote. 

I was just in Georgia.  You know they passed a law that makes it illegal to give people food and water for standing in line to vote?

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  The hypocrisy abounds.  Whatever happened to “love thy neighbor,” right? 

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.)

     So, I say to everyone here what you know: Generations of Americans before us fought for freedom, and now the baton is in our hands.  The baton is in our hands.  And I want to speak specifically to all the young leaders, all the students who are here today.  (Applause.)  I want to speak to you for a moment. 

     So, I love your generation.  (Laughs.)  I really do.  And one of the things about it is you are rightly impatient for change.  I love that about you.  (Applause.) 

You are impatient for change.  Because, look, you have only known the climate crisis and are leading, then, the charge to protect our planet and our future.  (Applause.)  You — you, young leaders, who grew up with active shooter drills and are fighting, then, to keep our schools safe.  You, who now know fewer rights than your mothers and grandmothers, are standing up for reproductive freedom.  (Applause.) 

And for you — and for you, then, I know that these issues that are at stake, they are not theoretical.  This is not political for you.  It is your lived experience.  And I see you, and I see your power, and I know many of you are voting for the first time.  Can I see a raise of hands: Who’s voting for the first time?  (Applause.)

Can we hear it for our first-time voters?  (Applause.)  See, that’s why I know the future of our country is bright.  That’s why I know.

So, listen, so much is on the line in this election, and this is not 2016 or 2020.  We can all see that Donald Trump is even more unstable and more unhinged, and now he wants unchecked power. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And this time — and this time, there will be no one there to stop him, not even the Supreme Court, which, months ago, told the former president that he is essentially immune no matter what he would do in the White House. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, think about it.  Before, at least there was the threat, the possibility that there would be some accountability and consequence.  Now the Supreme Court has said he is effectively — would be immune. 

 So, just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.  He who has vowed he would be a dictator on day one.  He who has even called for, quote, the “termination” of the Constitution of the United States of America. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And let us be clear.  Anyone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States of America.  (Applause.)  Never again.  Never again.

     AUDIENCE:  Never again!  Never again!  Never again!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Never again.  (Inaudible.)

     AUDIENCE:  Never again!  Never again!  Never again!

So, Michigan, there is a huge contrast in this election, and I’d ask us to just imagine the Oval Office in three months.  Okay?  So, just picture it in your head.  So, either it’s Donald Trump sitting in there —

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — stewing — stewing over his enemies list — or me, with your help, working for you, checking off my to-do list.  (Applause.)

So, Michigan, it all comes down to this.  We are here together because we know what is at stake.  Everyone here, out of your busy lives, the time you have taken to be here tonight and to be here because we know not only what is at stake but we are here together because we love our country.  (Applause.)  We love our country.  We love our country. 

And, you know, when you love something, you got to fight for it.  (Applause.)  Ours is not a fight against something.  Ours is not a fight against something.  It is a fight for something.  (Applause.)

 And I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism — love of our country — to then fight for the ideals of our country and to fight to realize the promise of America.  That’s what our campaign is about.  That’s what we are about. 

And one of the most powerful ways that we will do that is with our vote.  So, now is the time to get out the vote, Michigan.  (Applause.)  Now is the time.

     AUDIENCE:  Vote!  Vote!  Vote!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we have eight days to get this done.  So, obviously, nobody here is going to sit on the sidelines. 

     AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And let’s make sure that we spend the next eight days knowing that in nine days, when we look back, we will be able to say and know we did everything we could to remind our friends and our classmates and our neighbors and our coworkers that we’re all in this together. 

You know, there’s been something about this Trump era that has been very backward in terms of trying to suggest 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 our individual and collective strength is based on who we lift up.  (Applause.)  That’s what we are about. 

And over these next eight days, yes, we will win.  Yes, we must win.  But let’s also approach these eight da- — eight days knowing our power to build community, knowing our power to build coalitions, knowing our power to reach out to one another, reminding us that nobody is alone, that we are all in this together. 

And let’s do that then — (applause) — while we knock on doors, while we take the time to text and call potential voters.  Let’s reach out to our family and our friends and our classmates and our neighbors and make sure they know the stakes in this election. 

And let’s remind them: Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power.  (Applause.)

And so, Michigan, I then ask you: Are you ready to make your voices heard?  (Applause.)

     Do we believe in freedom?  (Applause.)

     Do we believe in opportunity?  (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.

     God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America. 

Thank you all.  (Applause.)

                             END                8:05 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event | Ann Arbor, MI appeared first on The White House.

IUPAT District Council 1M
Warren, MI

5:15 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all.

PARTICIPANT:  Thank you for saving our pensions.  Thank you for saving — (applause) —

PARTICIPANTS:  Thank you. 

PARTICIPANT:  Thank you.  Thank you for CHIPS and Science.  Thank you for the Inflation Reduction Act.  Thank you for all you’ve done for us.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, you know what?  Y- — you guys make it easy.  I mean, look, I — as you know, I am a long-standing supporter and friend of unions and labor.  And — and the painters union, I am honored to have your support in this election.

But, look, you guys are the ones who make it easy.  This is highly skilled work.  You do it with a sense of pride.  You do it with a sense of commitment.  You are making our country stronger and better by the work that you do. 

We just talked about the industrial work that you’re doing, whether it’s about a bridge, whether it’s about what we’re doing to invest in technology and the future industries.  You’re transitioning also into batteries — all that work.  And it’s highly skilled work.

And I love, for example, the apprenticeship programs and building up America’s workforce around training and, again, the highest of skills.  The work that you are doing through an apprenticeship program that’s also about building community and family for the people who enter it — it’s about pride in work.  It’s about the dignity of work.

The reason that I have fought for things like pensions is it’s literally about the dignity of work.  You work hard.  You deserve, at the point that you’re going to retire, to be able to retire with dignity.  And we have to value the skill.

You know, my opponent, he doesn’t understand the importance of unions at all.  No, but he’s — he just gives a lot of mouth.  He —

PARTICIPANT:  He’s got to care about people to understand them.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He gives a lot of talk about what he cares about, but on the issue specifically of what is good for unions and union labor, he’s been awful.  You look at what he did when he was at — president with the NLRB, the National Labor Relations Board — a bunch of union busters. 

You look at — when he talked to his buddies, like his billionaire buddies — remember, he did the tax cut for billionaires and big corporations.  He’s not workin- — he’s not working for or concerned about working people, middle-class people.  And then when he’s talking to his buddy, he li- — he jokes about, “Yeah, if they’re striking, you should fire them.” 

But what I know America understands about union labor is it’s just about fairness and it is about dignity.  Wherever I go, I tell people: Look, if you’ve got a five-day workweek, if you’ve got sick time, if you’ve got vacation time, if you have a pension, thank a union member.  Thank unions.  Because whether somebody’s a member of a union or not, union labor and hard work is a — so much of what fought for workers’ rights across the board.

So, look, I’m here.  I’m here for you.  We have an election coming up in eight days.

PARTICIPANT:  That you’re going to win.  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we are going — we are going to win.  You know what?  We are going to win. 

We may have bloody knuckles by the end of it, but we’re winning.  We’re winning.

And — and because we stand for certain basic principles, and we know — we know when we know what we stand for, we know what to fight for.

     PARTICIPANT:  You’re here.  He’s not.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right.  Right.  It’s —

     PARTICIPANT:  Save our country from him.

     PARTICIPANT:  Please.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’m — and you’re right.  I mean, you look at — you look at how he just deg- — he — he talks down to the American people.  He — he degrades who we are as America, in- — instead of fighting for who we are in terms of our capacity. 

I look at our young leaders.  They deserve to have a leader and a president of the United States who is not only optimistic but ambitious about what we can do.  Donald Trump just recently talked about how he would get rid of CHIPS — the number of jobs for the painters union members, building trades members, writ large; what we did with the Inflation Reduction Act, the jobs we’ve created there; the work that we’ve done that’s been about partnering with the private sector to create incentives for them to put the money into it and also prioritizing, as I always will, letting them know, “As we create these jobs, put them through your apprenticeship programs.  Let’s make those union jobs and good-paying jobs.”

All of that is at stake, but it’s a — it’s also about an approach and a value in character.  And right now, you know, I’ve been saying: Look, imagine January 20th, because there will be — one of us is going to be elected, and one of us is going to be sitting in the Oval Office on January 20th. 

And it’s a choice on many levels, including whether you want Donald Trump sitting in the Oval Office, stewing over his enemies list —

     PARTICIPANT:  No, no, no, no, no.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — or what we’re going to do together, which is there, focused on American workers and American families, on our to-do list.

 So, we got a lot at stake.  We are going to win.  (Applause.)

                         END                      5:21 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event | Warren, MI appeared first on The White House.

Burns Park
Ann Arbor, Michigan

7:41 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good evening, Ann Arbor!  (Applause.)  Good evening. 

Can we hear it for Tim Walz?  (Applause.)

Oh, it’s great to be back in Michigan.  How’s everybody doing?  (Applause.)  Go Blue!  (Applause.) 

So, let me just say about Tim Walz.  He’s been such an extraordinary running mate, and he will be an extraordinary vice president of the United States.  (Applause.)

And let me tell you why I love Coach Walz.  As he travels to every corner of our country, meeting with people in small towns, big to- — towns, everywhere in between, Cal- — Coach Walz is always bringing the joy.  He is always bringing the joy.  He cares about people.  He understands people.  He understands hard work.  And he understands what it means to be a leader who lifts people up instead of trying to beat people down.  That is Tim Walz.  (Applause.)

And, Ann Arbor, I can feel the joy tonight.  Thank you all so very much.  (Applause.)

And we have some other incredible leaders with us here tonight.  Mayor Taylor, thank you.  (Applause.)  Where’s — there you are.  Deputy County Executive Turfe, I thank you so very much.  (Applause.)  Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist.  (Applause.)  Representative Dingell, a champion for this community.  (Applause.)  And let’s also send Elissa Slotkin to the United States Senate.  (Applause.)  We need her in D.C.

And I also want to thank all the labor, elected, and community leaders who are here today.

And can we please hear it again for Maggie Rogers?  (Applause.)

All right.  We got business to handle.  (Laughter.) 

Okay.  So, Ann Arbor, I have a question for you.  Are we ready to do this?  (Applause.)

Are we ready to vote?  (Applause.)

Are we ready to win?  (Applause.)  Yes.  And we will win.  (Applause.)  And we will win. 

So, you just heard from the coach: Early voting has started here in Michigan.  You can vote early now through Sunday, November 3rd.  And we need you to vote early, Michigan, because we have just eight days to go — eight days left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. 

And as everybody here knows, this is going to be a tight race until the very end. 

So, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we like hard work.  (Applause.)  Hard work is good work.  Hard work is joyful work. 

And make no mistake, we will win.  We will win.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  We will win!  We will win!  We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:   Yes, we will. 

And we will win because together —

AUDIENCE:  We will win!  We will win!  We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we will win, yes.  Yes.  (Laughs.)

AUDIENCE:  We will win!  We will win!  We will win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We can keep going all night.  (Laughs.)

But one of the reasons we will win is because we are all in this together.  We are all in this together — people from every walk of life, understanding that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. 

And we here are fighting for the future.  (Applause.)  We are fighting for the future, and we understand the opportunity that we have before us to turn the page on the fear and divisiveness that have characterized our politics for a decade because of Donald Trump. 

We have an opportunity to turn the page and chart a new and joyful way forward where we tap into the ambitions — (applause) — and we will tap into the ambitions and the aspirations and the dreams of the American people.  (Applause.)

And let me tell you something.  As I travel our country, there is an overwhelming call for a fresh start — people from all walks of life.  And they are calling for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic and excited about what we can do together.  (Applause.) 

There is a yearning in our country for a president who will see you, who gets you, and who will fight for you.  (Applause.)

And, listen, hey, on the subject of Gaza.  Hey, guys — (the vice president waves to audience members) — I hear you.  On the subject of Gaza, we all want this war to end as soon as possible and get the hostages out.  And I will do everything in my power to make it so.  (Applause.)

And let’s be clear.  We are all here because we are fighting for a democracy and for the right of people to be heard and seen.  (Applause.)  We’re not about the enemy within.  We know we are all in this together.  That’s what we are fighting for.  (Applause.)

     And my whole career —

     AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.

     AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay, now I want each of you to shout your own name.  Do that — (laughter) — because it’s about all of us.  It’s about all of us. 

And, listen, I have fought my whole career to put the people first and to put the people above partisanship.  I never once asked in my career, “Are you a Democrat or are you a Republican?”  The only thing I ever asked is “How can I help you?  Are you okay?”  And that — (applause) — and that is a major difference between Donald Trump and me, and between the two extremely different visions that he and I have for our nation. 

His is focused on himself and the past.  Ours is focused on the future and it is focused on the people.  (Applause.)

So, together, we will build a future where we bring down the cost of living.  That will be my focus every single day as president, because while inflation is down and wages are up, prices are still too high.  You know it, and I know it. 

And unlike Donald Trump, who had $400 million handed to him on a silver platter — and don’t forget, he filed for bankruptcy six times, the great businessman — unlike him, I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood with a working mother who kept a strict budget and did everything she could to make sure that my sister and I had all we needed.  I come from the middle class, and I will never forget where I come from.  (Applause.)  Never.

And so, my commonsense plan will lower the prices you pay on everything from prescription medication to groceries to housing.  On the other hand, Donald Trump will raise costs on you and your family. 

In fact, independent economists have analyzed both of our plans and found mine will cut your costs and strengthen our economy, while his will increase inflation and lead to a recession by the middle of next year.  (Applause.)

And his agenda is laid out in Project 2025.  You know, I say everywhere —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I know we’ve got a lot of students here, and I have to tell you, I just find it really interesting that they put that — that thing in writing.  (Laughter.)  They put it in writing.  They — they bound it.  They published it.  They handed it out.  And then they expect we’re not going to talk about it?  Are you kidding me?  (Laughter.)

And when you read it, you will see it is a detailed and dangerous blueprint for what he plans to do if he is elected president.

Donald Trump will impose a 20 percent national sales tax on everyday, basic necessities, which economists have estimated will cost the average American family an additional $4,000 a year. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Contrast, on the other hand, I’m going to take on corporate price gouging.  I’ve done it before, and I will do it again.  (Applause.)  

Donald Trump will give massive tax cuts, like he did before, to billionaires and the biggest corporations.  He did it the last time.  He is going to do it again. 

I, on the other hand, will give middle-class tax cuts to hundred million Americans, including $6,000 for the first year of a child’s life, because I understand how that will lift America’s children out of poverty, which what — must be one of our highest goals.  (Applause.)

Donald Trump will get rid of the $35-a-month cap on insulin for our seniors. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He will cut Medicare and Social Security.  In fact, economists say he will bankrupt Social Security in the next six years. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And understand what that means.  So many of the seniors in America — that’s their only source of income.  That’s the only way they’re able to pay their rent and buy food. 

I have a plan to support our seniors, so they can grow older with dignity and so their families are not overwhelmed by the cost of home health care.  (Applause.)

On top of that, my plan will bring down the cost of housing; cut taxes for small businesses, because small businesses are the backbone of our economy — (applause); and lower health care costs, because I believe health care should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it.  (Applause.)

Donald Trump, on the other hand, intends to end the Affordable Care Act and take us back —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — which would take us back to a time when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  You remember what that was like?

Well, we are —

AUDIENCE:  Not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — not going back.  We are not going back.  We are not going back. 

AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We’re not going back.  We’re not going — and we’re not going back because we, together, will move forward to the future, because we believe in who we are and what is possible and because we know it is time to turn the page.  It is time to turn the page.  (Applause.)

Ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom, like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body — (applause) — and not have her government tell her what to do. 

And we all remember how we got here.  When Donald Trump was president, he hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And they did as he intended.  And now in America, one in three women lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban —

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — many with no exceptions, even for rape and incest. 

I was just in Texas the other day.  You know they provide prison for life for doctors and nurses and health care providers for providing care?  Prison for life.

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And no exceptions for a crime that is a violation of someone’s body, and then to tell that survivor of that violation, “You have no right to make a decision about what happens to your body next.”  That is immoral.  It is immoral.  (Applause.)  And I know we all 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.  (Applause.)  Not the government.

And, listen, you all have heard me say, I do believe Donald Trump to be an unserious man, but the consequences of him ever being president again are brutally serious — brutally serious.  Consider, on the topic we were just discussing, Donald Trump still refuses to acknowledge the pain and suffering he has caused.  He insists that, quote, “everyone” wanted for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Everyone wanted this?  Women are being denied care during miscarriages, some only being treated when they’ve developed sepsis.  They didn’t want this.  Couples trying to grow their family have been cut off in the middle of IVF treatments.  They didn’t want this.  The men of America are seeing their daughters and wives and sisters and mothers put at risk because their rights have been taken from them.  The men of America don’t want this.  (Applause.) 

And women have died because of these bans.  How could anyone say these folks wanted this? 

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

And I’m traveling our nation.  So, I have to tell everyone here: Across our nation, we are seeing a full-on assault on other and additional hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights, like the freedom to vote. 

I was just in Georgia.  You know they passed a law that makes it illegal to give people food and water for standing in line to vote?

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  The hypocrisy abounds.  Whatever happened to “love thy neighbor,” right? 

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.)

     So, I say to everyone here what you know: Generations of Americans before us fought for freedom, and now the baton is in our hands.  The baton is in our hands.  And I want to speak specifically to all the young leaders, all the students who are here today.  (Applause.)  I want to speak to you for a moment. 

     So, I love your generation.  (Laughs.)  I really do.  And one of the things about it is you are rightly impatient for change.  I love that about you.  (Applause.) 

You are impatient for change.  Because, look, you have only known the climate crisis and are leading, then, the charge to protect our planet and our future.  (Applause.)  You — you, young leaders, who grew up with active shooter drills and are fighting, then, to keep our schools safe.  You, who now know fewer rights than your mothers and grandmothers, are standing up for reproductive freedom.  (Applause.) 

And for you — and for you, then, I know that these issues that are at stake, they are not theoretical.  This is not political for you.  It is your lived experience.  And I see you, and I see your power, and I know many of you are voting for the first time.  Can I see a raise of hands: Who’s voting for the first time?  (Applause.)

Can we hear it for our first-time voters?  (Applause.)  See, that’s why I know the future of our country is bright.  That’s why I know.

So, listen, so much is on the line in this election, and this is not 2016 or 2020.  We can all see that Donald Trump is even more unstable and more unhinged, and now he wants unchecked power. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And this time — and this time, there will be no one there to stop him, not even the Supreme Court, which, months ago, told the former president that he is essentially immune no matter what he would do in the White House. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, think about it.  Before, at least there was the threat, the possibility that there would be some accountability and consequence.  Now the Supreme Court has said he is effectively — would be immune. 

 So, just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.  He who has vowed he would be a dictator on day one.  He who has even called for, quote, the “termination” of the Constitution of the United States of America. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And let us be clear.  Anyone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States of America.  (Applause.)  Never again.  Never again.

     AUDIENCE:  Never again!  Never again!  Never again!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Never again.  (Inaudible.)

     AUDIENCE:  Never again!  Never again!  Never again!

So, Michigan, there is a huge contrast in this election, and I’d ask us to just imagine the Oval Office in three months.  Okay?  So, just picture it in your head.  So, either it’s Donald Trump sitting in there —

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — stewing — stewing over his enemies list — or me, with your help, working for you, checking off my to-do list.  (Applause.)

So, Michigan, it all comes down to this.  We are here together because we know what is at stake.  Everyone here, out of your busy lives, the time you have taken to be here tonight and to be here because we know not only what is at stake but we are here together because we love our country.  (Applause.)  We love our country.  We love our country. 

And, you know, when you love something, you got to fight for it.  (Applause.)  Ours is not a fight against something.  Ours is not a fight against something.  It is a fight for something.  (Applause.)

 And I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism — love of our country — to then fight for the ideals of our country and to fight to realize the promise of America.  That’s what our campaign is about.  That’s what we are about. 

And one of the most powerful ways that we will do that is with our vote.  So, now is the time to get out the vote, Michigan.  (Applause.)  Now is the time.

     AUDIENCE:  Vote!  Vote!  Vote!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we have eight days to get this done.  So, obviously, nobody here is going to sit on the sidelines. 

     AUDIENCE:  No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And let’s make sure that we spend the next eight days knowing that in nine days, when we look back, we will be able to say and know we did everything we could to remind our friends and our classmates and our neighbors and our coworkers that we’re all in this together. 

You know, there’s been something about this Trump era that has been very backward in terms of trying to suggest 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 our individual and collective strength is based on who we lift up.  (Applause.)  That’s what we are about. 

And over these next eight days, yes, we will win.  Yes, we must win.  But let’s also approach these eight da- — eight days knowing our power to build community, knowing our power to build coalitions, knowing our power to reach out to one another, reminding us that nobody is alone, that we are all in this together. 

And let’s do that then — (applause) — while we knock on doors, while we take the time to text and call potential voters.  Let’s reach out to our family and our friends and our classmates and our neighbors and make sure they know the stakes in this election. 

And let’s remind them: Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power.  (Applause.)

And so, Michigan, I then ask you: Are you ready to make your voices heard?  (Applause.)

     Do we believe in freedom?  (Applause.)

     Do we believe in opportunity?  (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.

     God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America. 

Thank you all.  (Applause.)

                             END                8:05 P.M. EDT

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IUPAT District Council 1M
Warren, MI

5:15 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all.

PARTICIPANT:  Thank you for saving our pensions.  Thank you for saving — (applause) —

PARTICIPANTS:  Thank you. 

PARTICIPANT:  Thank you.  Thank you for CHIPS and Science.  Thank you for the Inflation Reduction Act.  Thank you for all you’ve done for us.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, you know what?  Y- — you guys make it easy.  I mean, look, I — as you know, I am a long-standing supporter and friend of unions and labor.  And — and the painters union, I am honored to have your support in this election.

But, look, you guys are the ones who make it easy.  This is highly skilled work.  You do it with a sense of pride.  You do it with a sense of commitment.  You are making our country stronger and better by the work that you do. 

We just talked about the industrial work that you’re doing, whether it’s about a bridge, whether it’s about what we’re doing to invest in technology and the future industries.  You’re transitioning also into batteries — all that work.  And it’s highly skilled work.

And I love, for example, the apprenticeship programs and building up America’s workforce around training and, again, the highest of skills.  The work that you are doing through an apprenticeship program that’s also about building community and family for the people who enter it — it’s about pride in work.  It’s about the dignity of work.

The reason that I have fought for things like pensions is it’s literally about the dignity of work.  You work hard.  You deserve, at the point that you’re going to retire, to be able to retire with dignity.  And we have to value the skill.

You know, my opponent, he doesn’t understand the importance of unions at all.  No, but he’s — he just gives a lot of mouth.  He —

PARTICIPANT:  He’s got to care about people to understand them.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He gives a lot of talk about what he cares about, but on the issue specifically of what is good for unions and union labor, he’s been awful.  You look at what he did when he was at — president with the NLRB, the National Labor Relations Board — a bunch of union busters. 

You look at — when he talked to his buddies, like his billionaire buddies — remember, he did the tax cut for billionaires and big corporations.  He’s not workin- — he’s not working for or concerned about working people, middle-class people.  And then when he’s talking to his buddy, he li- — he jokes about, “Yeah, if they’re striking, you should fire them.” 

But what I know America understands about union labor is it’s just about fairness and it is about dignity.  Wherever I go, I tell people: Look, if you’ve got a five-day workweek, if you’ve got sick time, if you’ve got vacation time, if you have a pension, thank a union member.  Thank unions.  Because whether somebody’s a member of a union or not, union labor and hard work is a — so much of what fought for workers’ rights across the board.

So, look, I’m here.  I’m here for you.  We have an election coming up in eight days.

PARTICIPANT:  That you’re going to win.  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we are going — we are going to win.  You know what?  We are going to win. 

We may have bloody knuckles by the end of it, but we’re winning.  We’re winning.

And — and because we stand for certain basic principles, and we know — we know when we know what we stand for, we know what to fight for.

     PARTICIPANT:  You’re here.  He’s not.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right.  Right.  It’s —

     PARTICIPANT:  Save our country from him.

     PARTICIPANT:  Please.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’m — and you’re right.  I mean, you look at — you look at how he just deg- — he — he talks down to the American people.  He — he degrades who we are as America, in- — instead of fighting for who we are in terms of our capacity. 

I look at our young leaders.  They deserve to have a leader and a president of the United States who is not only optimistic but ambitious about what we can do.  Donald Trump just recently talked about how he would get rid of CHIPS — the number of jobs for the painters union members, building trades members, writ large; what we did with the Inflation Reduction Act, the jobs we’ve created there; the work that we’ve done that’s been about partnering with the private sector to create incentives for them to put the money into it and also prioritizing, as I always will, letting them know, “As we create these jobs, put them through your apprenticeship programs.  Let’s make those union jobs and good-paying jobs.”

All of that is at stake, but it’s a — it’s also about an approach and a value in character.  And right now, you know, I’ve been saying: Look, imagine January 20th, because there will be — one of us is going to be elected, and one of us is going to be sitting in the Oval Office on January 20th. 

And it’s a choice on many levels, including whether you want Donald Trump sitting in the Oval Office, stewing over his enemies list —

     PARTICIPANT:  No, no, no, no, no.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — or what we’re going to do together, which is there, focused on American workers and American families, on our to-do list.

 So, we got a lot at stake.  We are going to win.  (Applause.)

                         END                      5:21 P.M. EDT

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Hemlock Semiconductor
Hemlock, Michigan

2:38 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oh, please have a seat, everyone.  Thank you. 

Listen, I came by to say thank you, in particular to you all and the folks who are doing this work here. 

A.B., Wendell, I want to thank you.  And the — Congressman Kildee, you’ve been an extraordinary partner for us in Washington, D.C.

Mayor, I thank you for the warm welcome.

But I’m so excited about the work you all are doing here.  This really does represent the best of who we are as a country. 

You know, I think that when we understand who we are as a nation, we take great pride in being a leader on so many things, and we have a tradition of that. 

But I think what we know as Americans is that we cannot rest on tradition.  We have to constantly be on top of what is happening, what is current, and investing in the industries of the future as well as honoring the traditions and the industries that have built up America’s economy. 

And what you all are doing here is exactly that. 

First of all, we talked about the fact that the people who are doing this extraordinary work here, the workers here, you’re doing work that requires an incredibly high level of skill.  As I listen to it, it’s about engineering.  There’s a technology piece to this.  There is a chemistry piece to this.  There is math to this.  And, I mean, it’s — it’s just — I mean, you’re doing robots, for God’s sake.  (Laughter.)  It’s good stuff.

And the fact that it’s right here and not very far from where you grew up and where you live.  And if we’re really going to strengthen America, we got to understand that we can do many things at once.  We can invest in industries of the future while also knowing, look, folks don’t want to have to leave home to have a good-paying job.  And that job should be well enough paying that you are able to buy a home and to raise a family. 

And what you guys are doing right here on the ground exemplifies all of that. 

I was talking with Wendell and A.B. about the fact that what you are doing here on the ground makes real that investing in American industries and investing in American workers can happen at the same time.  There doesn’t have to be a tension between the two. 

That doing this work will also be about understanding, look, we got to win the competition for the 21st century.  We’re not going to have China beat us in the competition for the 21st century. 

And that’s about, then, doing the work that Corning is going to be doing about manufacturing of those solar panels, together with the work that you are doing here.  What is it, polysilicone? 

AUDIENCE:  Polysilicon. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Si- — silicon.  I’m sorry.  (Laughter.)  That wasn’t right.

Right?  But doing the work here that is about — you’re — you’re creating the raw materials that these robots are then shipping out to other American-based manufacturers. 

You’re doing the work that’s about building up a clean energy economy and a guess — and again, investing in workers.  Wendell told me you’re going to be hiring 1,300 new workers starting today — good-paying jobs; $89,000 a year, I understand, at least.  My staff said, “Yeah, that’s better than some of the White House jobs,” in terms of how much it pays.  (Laughter.)  I said, “Look, it’s important work.”

And you’re doing it in a way that also makes us so proud as a country. 

And so, I came by, first and foremost, to thank you all.  And as I said to many of you as we were on this tour, I’m going to be talking about you behind your back.  (Laughter.)  I am.  I’m going to be talking about the fact that this is what we can do. 

And I say this as a very proud, long-standing — my whole entire life working — I’ve always been a public servant.  I believe in the important and good work that government can do. 

I also know the limitations of government.  And when we can find a way to have meaningful partnerships with the private sector, with industries, to do the kind of work that is happening here, everybody wins.  Everybody wins. 

And so, I want to thank you all for what you’re doing here as a great example of what was a vision that we had — the president and I and the congressman.  We’re going to create a meaningful public investment in America’s private industries through the Chips Act, through the Inflation Reduction Act.  And we’re going to infuse it with billions of dollars, knowing that if we do that, as that old saying comes, “If you build it, they will come.” 

And that’s when you all stepped in, A.B. and Wendell, and created a facility like this and what’s happening across the way that’s going to be about hiring folks, who, by the way, are doing highly skilled work that are good-paying jobs that don’t require a college degree. 

And that’s another point of emphasis that bears repeating.  I believe that as we think of industries of the future and the future of America’s workforce, we need to get in front of this idea that the only high-skilled jobs are — require a college degree.  It’s just not true. 

And, in fact, when I become president of the United States, one of the things that I plan on doing immediately — people ask me, “What are you doing on day one?” — one of the things immediately is to reassess federal jobs — and I’ve already started looking at it — to look at which ones don’t require a college degree. 

Because here’s the thing.  That’s not the only qualification for a qualified worker.  You’ve got to look at the skills; you’ve got to look at the experience.

And, again, you all are making that real and showing that on the ground right here. 

So, there are many points that are about how do we think about the future of work, the future of the workforce, the future of American industry in a way that understands that we should be optimistic about what’s possible. 

And look, we are eight days out from an election.  So, I just got to also talk about the contrast, because my opponent spends full time talking about — just kind of diminishing who we are as America and talking down at people, talking about — I don’t know, that we’re the “garbage can of the world.”  We’re not. 

He just recently did a radio talk show and talked about how he’d get rid of the CHIPS Act.  That’s — that was billions of dollars investing in just the kind of work that’s happening here. 

And you know how we did it?  We created tax credits to create the incentive for the private sector to do this work.  That’s good work. 

When he was president, he sold advanced chips to China that helped them with their agenda to modernize their military.  That’s not about what’s in the best interest of America’s security and prosperity, which should be two of the highest priorities for president of the United States. 

So, I say all that to say that there is a choice that the American public — a very serious choice presented in the next eight days.  And as much as anything, it is a question about what is the direction in the future that we want for our country. 

And I will refer to what you all are doing here to tell you that you are a source of my optimism and also my ambition about what we are capable of when we are focused on our capacity and we are focused on the future in such a meaningful way.

And so, I want to thank everybody for what you are doing.  And, like I said, I’ll be talking about you.  (Laughter.) 

But thank you for your good work, everyone, and thank you for the time.  Take care.  (Applause.)

                             END                2:47 P.M. EDT

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Hemlock Semiconductor
Hemlock, Michigan

2:38 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oh, please have a seat, everyone.  Thank you. 

Listen, I came by to say thank you, in particular to you all and the folks who are doing this work here. 

A.B., Wendell, I want to thank you.  And the — Congressman Kildee, you’ve been an extraordinary partner for us in Washington, D.C.

Mayor, I thank you for the warm welcome.

But I’m so excited about the work you all are doing here.  This really does represent the best of who we are as a country. 

You know, I think that when we understand who we are as a nation, we take great pride in being a leader on so many things, and we have a tradition of that. 

But I think what we know as Americans is that we cannot rest on tradition.  We have to constantly be on top of what is happening, what is current, and investing in the industries of the future as well as honoring the traditions and the industries that have built up America’s economy. 

And what you all are doing here is exactly that. 

First of all, we talked about the fact that the people who are doing this extraordinary work here, the workers here, you’re doing work that requires an incredibly high level of skill.  As I listen to it, it’s about engineering.  There’s a technology piece to this.  There is a chemistry piece to this.  There is math to this.  And, I mean, it’s — it’s just — I mean, you’re doing robots, for God’s sake.  (Laughter.)  It’s good stuff.

And the fact that it’s right here and not very far from where you grew up and where you live.  And if we’re really going to strengthen America, we got to understand that we can do many things at once.  We can invest in industries of the future while also knowing, look, folks don’t want to have to leave home to have a good-paying job.  And that job should be well enough paying that you are able to buy a home and to raise a family. 

And what you guys are doing right here on the ground exemplifies all of that. 

I was talking with Wendell and A.B. about the fact that what you are doing here on the ground makes real that investing in American industries and investing in American workers can happen at the same time.  There doesn’t have to be a tension between the two. 

That doing this work will also be about understanding, look, we got to win the competition for the 21st century.  We’re not going to have China beat us in the competition for the 21st century. 

And that’s about, then, doing the work that Corning is going to be doing about manufacturing of those solar panels, together with the work that you are doing here.  What is it, polysilicone? 

AUDIENCE:  Polysilicon. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Si- — silicon.  I’m sorry.  (Laughter.)  That wasn’t right.

Right?  But doing the work here that is about — you’re — you’re creating the raw materials that these robots are then shipping out to other American-based manufacturers. 

You’re doing the work that’s about building up a clean energy economy and a guess — and again, investing in workers.  Wendell told me you’re going to be hiring 1,300 new workers starting today — good-paying jobs; $89,000 a year, I understand, at least.  My staff said, “Yeah, that’s better than some of the White House jobs,” in terms of how much it pays.  (Laughter.)  I said, “Look, it’s important work.”

And you’re doing it in a way that also makes us so proud as a country. 

And so, I came by, first and foremost, to thank you all.  And as I said to many of you as we were on this tour, I’m going to be talking about you behind your back.  (Laughter.)  I am.  I’m going to be talking about the fact that this is what we can do. 

And I say this as a very proud, long-standing — my whole entire life working — I’ve always been a public servant.  I believe in the important and good work that government can do. 

I also know the limitations of government.  And when we can find a way to have meaningful partnerships with the private sector, with industries, to do the kind of work that is happening here, everybody wins.  Everybody wins. 

And so, I want to thank you all for what you’re doing here as a great example of what was a vision that we had — the president and I and the congressman.  We’re going to create a meaningful public investment in America’s private industries through the Chips Act, through the Inflation Reduction Act.  And we’re going to infuse it with billions of dollars, knowing that if we do that, as that old saying comes, “If you build it, they will come.” 

And that’s when you all stepped in, A.B. and Wendell, and created a facility like this and what’s happening across the way that’s going to be about hiring folks, who, by the way, are doing highly skilled work that are good-paying jobs that don’t require a college degree. 

And that’s another point of emphasis that bears repeating.  I believe that as we think of industries of the future and the future of America’s workforce, we need to get in front of this idea that the only high-skilled jobs are — require a college degree.  It’s just not true. 

And, in fact, when I become president of the United States, one of the things that I plan on doing immediately — people ask me, “What are you doing on day one?” — one of the things immediately is to reassess federal jobs — and I’ve already started looking at it — to look at which ones don’t require a college degree. 

Because here’s the thing.  That’s not the only qualification for a qualified worker.  You’ve got to look at the skills; you’ve got to look at the experience.

And, again, you all are making that real and showing that on the ground right here. 

So, there are many points that are about how do we think about the future of work, the future of the workforce, the future of American industry in a way that understands that we should be optimistic about what’s possible. 

And look, we are eight days out from an election.  So, I just got to also talk about the contrast, because my opponent spends full time talking about — just kind of diminishing who we are as America and talking down at people, talking about — I don’t know, that we’re the “garbage can of the world.”  We’re not. 

He just recently did a radio talk show and talked about how he’d get rid of the CHIPS Act.  That’s — that was billions of dollars investing in just the kind of work that’s happening here. 

And you know how we did it?  We created tax credits to create the incentive for the private sector to do this work.  That’s good work. 

When he was president, he sold advanced chips to China that helped them with their agenda to modernize their military.  That’s not about what’s in the best interest of America’s security and prosperity, which should be two of the highest priorities for president of the United States. 

So, I say all that to say that there is a choice that the American public — a very serious choice presented in the next eight days.  And as much as anything, it is a question about what is the direction in the future that we want for our country. 

And I will refer to what you all are doing here to tell you that you are a source of my optimism and also my ambition about what we are capable of when we are focused on our capacity and we are focused on the future in such a meaningful way.

And so, I want to thank everybody for what you are doing.  And, like I said, I’ll be talking about you.  (Laughter.) 

But thank you for your good work, everyone, and thank you for the time.  Take care.  (Applause.)

                             END                2:47 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event | Hemlock, MI appeared first on The White House.

East Room

6:22 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, Madam President, thank you.  (Laughter.)  Shrusti, thank you for that introduction.  You know, just promise me when you’re president one day and they say, “Joe Biden is in the waiting room,” you won’t ask, “Joe who?”  (Laughter.) 

MS. AMULA:  I won’t.

THE PRESIDENT:  My wife, Jill, wanted to be here today, but she’s traveling to Wisconsin.  (Applause.)  And Kamala couldn’t be here today because she’s traveling as well.  (Laughter.)  They both send their love. 

You know, I selected Kamala to be my running mate for many reasons.  She’s smart.  She’s tough.  She’s trusted.  A district attorney, an attorney general of California, a United States senator, now vice president of the United States — there’s more experience that she has than the whole of that other guy she’s running against.  (Laughter.)  But most importantly — and I mean this sincerely from the bottom of my heart — she has character.  She has character.  (Applause.)  

It’s one of the things we bonded over was the role of — each of our mothers played in our lives.  They come from different places and different generations and different lives, but they shared a basic belief about — belief about America: Only in America is anything possible — only in America. 

We just heard a great surgeon general — and Vivek has become a friend — talk about the journey that — that he an- — of that belief: a journey of hard work, education, and entrepreneurship; a belief in family, faith, and service.  Contributions that come from all walks of life: factory workers, caregivers, business owners, drivers, teachers, police officers, firefighters, artists, entertainers, and so much more, including members of Congress, three of whom are here today.  Ro — where are you, Ro?  (Applause.)  There you go.  And Raja — (applause); and Shri.  (Applause.)  All right.

By the way, are your kids there, Ro? 

REPRESENTATIVE KHANNA:  Right there, yeah. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Come on up, guys.

AUDIENCE:  Aw.  (Two children join the president on stage.) 

Aw. 

THE PRESIDENT:  (Addressing children.)  (Inaudible.) 

All right.  (Laughter.) 

You know, and the vice president, she — I don’t think she’s going to be stopping by, though, tonight. 

You know, we just heard how far that journey can take you as we watched Suni Williams wish her ha- — you a ha- — us a happy Diwali from the International Space Station. 

Now, I — we were going to do a live video, but as we pointed out already, she’s traveling 17,000 miles an hour, 5 miles a second, and she’s going to see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets all while the very precise experiments are being done.  It’s incredible.  We couldn’t figure out when the hell she’d show up.  (Laughter.)

You watch the video and you see NASA’s mesmerizing images of Earth, you’ll notice something simple and profound. 

Astronauts talk about that thin blue line that separates Earth from space, life from destruction, lightness from darkness.  But we thought — we thought what a wonderful way to celebrate the festival of lights at the White House, by looking up into the heavens, to keep our heads high as we seek the spirit of Diwali — knowledge over ignorance, goodness over hate, unity over division — and to look up focused on the North Star of our nation. 

Unlike any other nation in the world, we’re unique in the world.  We’re the only nation not based on race or religion or geography.  America is based on an idea — literally, the only nation in the world based on an idea.  The idea is that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all women and men are created equal.  “Endowed by their Creator,” it said.  We mean it.  We haven’t always throughout — throughout lives we de- — we deserve to be treated equally. 

We’ve never fully lived up to that i- — but we’ve never walked away from it either.  That’s because of you and generations before you bringing thousands of years of heritage, tradition to give shape and meaning to American life.  And I mean this sincerely.

The first South Asians arrived in America in the late 1700s, but even — but even into the 18- and 1900s, this diverse community contributed to the growth of this nation, even serving this nation in uniform, but were denied citizenship and equal rights.  But by the time I was elected United States senator in 1972, when I was 29 years old, a new wave of South Asians were even more welcome. 

You all know the stories.  Many of you were the first in your families to get a formal education.  They scraped together their life savings for the first fight — flight ever, which was across the world to America — far from family, far from home, with just a single suitcase and a few dollars in their pockets.  Teaching themselves English by watching television, listening to the radio; befriending neighbors of every background who lent a hand to help; planting seeds of a new life in big cities, small towns all across America that have grown into something remarkable. 

The South Asian American community enriched every part of American life, and that’s the truth.  And that is among the fastest growing, most engaged community in the country, you are now. 

On this day in America, we think about that journey of light.  Earlier in our nation’s founding, generations before [you lit a] diya in the shadow of the suspicion.  Now, in the [our] time, Diwali is celebrated openly and proudly here in the White House.

And, by the way, this is not my house.  This is your house.  (Applause.)  No, it really is.  It’s the People’s House.

Every time they give — you know, they introduce me, “And now we’re going to hear from the next president,” I wonder, “Where the hell is he?”  (Laughter.)  (Inaudible.) 

But we also know today we face an inflection point, on a serious note — one of those rare moments that only come in several gene- — once in ev- — every several generations, where the decisions we make today will determine the future to come for decades, literally. 

Every generation has been called to move us forward to be the nation we say we are.  But only once in every few generations are we reminded not to take the idea of America for granted, because it’s never guaranteed.  That moment is now. 

American democracy has never been easy.  In a country as diverse as ours, we debate, we dissent, as we forge a path forward through compromise and consensus.  But the key is we never lose sight of how we got here and why. 

For me, 50 years of public service comes with — with that comes a clarity of conc- — confidence in America.  We’re a nation with a heart, a soul that draws from old and new.  In America, everything runs deep, especially the courage to serve and protect, to heal and to bear witness, to immigrate, to dare to dream. 

With my presidency, I’ve tried to channel that American spirit by bringing to bear all my experiences and wisdom gained from it and to get us through one of the most difficult periods in our nation’s recent history and to be a bridge between generations like [linked] in memory and imagination and joined by our histories and with faith in our futures — a future with a new voices. 

Now it’s your turn to use your voice to talk with family and friends; to talk to the people you work with, you pray with, you go to school with.  Remind them we’re all a part of something bigger — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart — something special. 

In fact, the story goes that when President Kennedy set the bold goal to send an American into space — and that inspired patriots like Suni Williams to become an astronaut — President Kennedy went to NASA headquarters.  He asked a maintenance worker what his job was.  And here’s what the janitor replied.  He said, “I’m helping send America to the moon.”  “I’m helping send America to the moon.”

Folks, no matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, we all have a role to play to keep the American experiment going.  The America of your dreams needs you now, quite frankly, more than ever. 

Let me close with this.  In late November 2016, a dark cloud formed from hate and hostility toward immigrants, including South Asian Americans, that we hear once again in 2024.  It was then that Jill and I hosted the first Diwali reception, and it was at the vice president’s residence, an Irish Catholic president — vice president, at the time — opening our home for a holiday celebration by Hindus, Bi- — Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and more.  How America — how America can remind us all of our power to be the light, all of us. 

Now, as president, I’ve been honored to host the biggest Diwali receptions ever at the White House.  (Applause.) 

To me, it means a great deal.  As senator, vice president, and president, South Asian Americans have been key members of my staff, from Kamala to Dr. Murthy to so many of you here today. 

I’m proud that I kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America — looks like America — taps into the full talents of our nation, including a record number of South Asian Americans at every level across our entire government. 

I was honored to have just lit the diya with several of them, as Jill and I have done each year in office.  You’ll see it shortly in the Blue Room. 

It was the chance to wish my staff happy Diwali, but it was also a chance to thank them for their service to our country, just as I offer my thanks and gratitude to all of you that are here tonight. 

Together, we may show the power in the gathering of light — the light of knowledge; the light of unity and truth; the light of freedom of — for democracy, for America — America we share and cherish.  Only in America is everything possible. 

So, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here.  Welcome to your home.

Happy Diwali, America.  (Applause.)

God bless you all.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

6:33 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Reception in Celebration of Diwali appeared first on The White House.

East Room

6:22 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, Madam President, thank you.  (Laughter.)  Shrusti, thank you for that introduction.  You know, just promise me when you’re president one day and they say, “Joe Biden is in the waiting room,” you won’t ask, “Joe who?”  (Laughter.) 

MS. AMULA:  I won’t.

THE PRESIDENT:  My wife, Jill, wanted to be here today, but she’s traveling to Wisconsin.  (Applause.)  And Kamala couldn’t be here today because she’s traveling as well.  (Laughter.)  They both send their love. 

You know, I selected Kamala to be my running mate for many reasons.  She’s smart.  She’s tough.  She’s trusted.  A district attorney, an attorney general of California, a United States senator, now vice president of the United States — there’s more experience that she has than the whole of that other guy she’s running against.  (Laughter.)  But most importantly — and I mean this sincerely from the bottom of my heart — she has character.  She has character.  (Applause.)  

It’s one of the things we bonded over was the role of — each of our mothers played in our lives.  They come from different places and different generations and different lives, but they shared a basic belief about — belief about America: Only in America is anything possible — only in America. 

We just heard a great surgeon general — and Vivek has become a friend — talk about the journey that — that he an- — of that belief: a journey of hard work, education, and entrepreneurship; a belief in family, faith, and service.  Contributions that come from all walks of life: factory workers, caregivers, business owners, drivers, teachers, police officers, firefighters, artists, entertainers, and so much more, including members of Congress, three of whom are here today.  Ro — where are you, Ro?  (Applause.)  There you go.  And Raja — (applause); and Shri.  (Applause.)  All right.

By the way, are your kids there, Ro? 

REPRESENTATIVE KHANNA:  Right there, yeah. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Come on up, guys.

AUDIENCE:  Aw.  (Two children join the president on stage.) 

Aw. 

THE PRESIDENT:  (Addressing children.)  (Inaudible.) 

All right.  (Laughter.) 

You know, and the vice president, she — I don’t think she’s going to be stopping by, though, tonight. 

You know, we just heard how far that journey can take you as we watched Suni Williams wish her ha- — you a ha- — us a happy Diwali from the International Space Station. 

Now, I — we were going to do a live video, but as we pointed out already, she’s traveling 17,000 miles an hour, 5 miles a second, and she’s going to see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets all while the very precise experiments are being done.  It’s incredible.  We couldn’t figure out when the hell she’d show up.  (Laughter.)

You watch the video and you see NASA’s mesmerizing images of Earth, you’ll notice something simple and profound. 

Astronauts talk about that thin blue line that separates Earth from space, life from destruction, lightness from darkness.  But we thought — we thought what a wonderful way to celebrate the festival of lights at the White House, by looking up into the heavens, to keep our heads high as we seek the spirit of Diwali — knowledge over ignorance, goodness over hate, unity over division — and to look up focused on the North Star of our nation. 

Unlike any other nation in the world, we’re unique in the world.  We’re the only nation not based on race or religion or geography.  America is based on an idea — literally, the only nation in the world based on an idea.  The idea is that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all women and men are created equal.  “Endowed by their Creator,” it said.  We mean it.  We haven’t always throughout — throughout lives we de- — we deserve to be treated equally. 

We’ve never fully lived up to that i- — but we’ve never walked away from it either.  That’s because of you and generations before you bringing thousands of years of heritage, tradition to give shape and meaning to American life.  And I mean this sincerely.

The first South Asians arrived in America in the late 1700s, but even — but even into the 18- and 1900s, this diverse community contributed to the growth of this nation, even serving this nation in uniform, but were denied citizenship and equal rights.  But by the time I was elected United States senator in 1972, when I was 29 years old, a new wave of South Asians were even more welcome. 

You all know the stories.  Many of you were the first in your families to get a formal education.  They scraped together their life savings for the first fight — flight ever, which was across the world to America — far from family, far from home, with just a single suitcase and a few dollars in their pockets.  Teaching themselves English by watching television, listening to the radio; befriending neighbors of every background who lent a hand to help; planting seeds of a new life in big cities, small towns all across America that have grown into something remarkable. 

The South Asian American community enriched every part of American life, and that’s the truth.  And that is among the fastest growing, most engaged community in the country, you are now. 

On this day in America, we think about that journey of light.  Earlier in our nation’s founding, generations before [you lit a] diya in the shadow of the suspicion.  Now, in the [our] time, Diwali is celebrated openly and proudly here in the White House.

And, by the way, this is not my house.  This is your house.  (Applause.)  No, it really is.  It’s the People’s House.

Every time they give — you know, they introduce me, “And now we’re going to hear from the next president,” I wonder, “Where the hell is he?”  (Laughter.)  (Inaudible.) 

But we also know today we face an inflection point, on a serious note — one of those rare moments that only come in several gene- — once in ev- — every several generations, where the decisions we make today will determine the future to come for decades, literally. 

Every generation has been called to move us forward to be the nation we say we are.  But only once in every few generations are we reminded not to take the idea of America for granted, because it’s never guaranteed.  That moment is now. 

American democracy has never been easy.  In a country as diverse as ours, we debate, we dissent, as we forge a path forward through compromise and consensus.  But the key is we never lose sight of how we got here and why. 

For me, 50 years of public service comes with — with that comes a clarity of conc- — confidence in America.  We’re a nation with a heart, a soul that draws from old and new.  In America, everything runs deep, especially the courage to serve and protect, to heal and to bear witness, to immigrate, to dare to dream. 

With my presidency, I’ve tried to channel that American spirit by bringing to bear all my experiences and wisdom gained from it and to get us through one of the most difficult periods in our nation’s recent history and to be a bridge between generations like [linked] in memory and imagination and joined by our histories and with faith in our futures — a future with a new voices. 

Now it’s your turn to use your voice to talk with family and friends; to talk to the people you work with, you pray with, you go to school with.  Remind them we’re all a part of something bigger — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart — something special. 

In fact, the story goes that when President Kennedy set the bold goal to send an American into space — and that inspired patriots like Suni Williams to become an astronaut — President Kennedy went to NASA headquarters.  He asked a maintenance worker what his job was.  And here’s what the janitor replied.  He said, “I’m helping send America to the moon.”  “I’m helping send America to the moon.”

Folks, no matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, we all have a role to play to keep the American experiment going.  The America of your dreams needs you now, quite frankly, more than ever. 

Let me close with this.  In late November 2016, a dark cloud formed from hate and hostility toward immigrants, including South Asian Americans, that we hear once again in 2024.  It was then that Jill and I hosted the first Diwali reception, and it was at the vice president’s residence, an Irish Catholic president — vice president, at the time — opening our home for a holiday celebration by Hindus, Bi- — Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and more.  How America — how America can remind us all of our power to be the light, all of us. 

Now, as president, I’ve been honored to host the biggest Diwali receptions ever at the White House.  (Applause.) 

To me, it means a great deal.  As senator, vice president, and president, South Asian Americans have been key members of my staff, from Kamala to Dr. Murthy to so many of you here today. 

I’m proud that I kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America — looks like America — taps into the full talents of our nation, including a record number of South Asian Americans at every level across our entire government. 

I was honored to have just lit the diya with several of them, as Jill and I have done each year in office.  You’ll see it shortly in the Blue Room. 

It was the chance to wish my staff happy Diwali, but it was also a chance to thank them for their service to our country, just as I offer my thanks and gratitude to all of you that are here tonight. 

Together, we may show the power in the gathering of light — the light of knowledge; the light of unity and truth; the light of freedom of — for democracy, for America — America we share and cherish.  Only in America is everything possible. 

So, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here.  Welcome to your home.

Happy Diwali, America.  (Applause.)

God bless you all.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

6:33 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Reception in Celebration of Diwali appeared first on The White House.

Joint Base Andrews
Prince George’s County, Maryland

11:31 A.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good morning.  Good morning. Good morning.   

Well, briefly, I think, last night, Donald Trump’s event in Madison Square Garden really highlighted a point that I’ve been making throughout this campaign: He is focused and actually fixated on his grievances, on himself, and on dividing our country. 

And it is not in any way something that will strengthen the American family, the American worker.  It is — nothing about what he is saying that is actually going to support the aspirations, the dreams, and the ambitions of the American people. 

It is absolutely something that is intended to and is fanning the fuel of trying to divide our country.  And as I’ve said many times — I’ll say tomorrow night in my speech — there’s a big difference between he and I. 

If he were elected, on day one, he’s going to be sitting in the Oval Office working on his enemies list.  On day one, if I’m elected president of the United States, which I fully intend to be, I will be working on behalf of the American people on my to-do list. 

I’ll take any questions you have.

Q    Madam Vice —

AIDE:  Let’s go to Tarini.

Q    Madam Vice President, Michelle Obama said recently that you’ve faced a double standard in this campaign.  Do you feel like you’ve had to clear a higher bar every day than Donald Trump?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  My role and responsibility of running for president of the United States is to make my case to the American people and to earn their support, and that is why I’m spending time traveling the country to listen to folks and to talk with them about my plans — my plans for strengthening our small businesses, my plan for helping people with homeownership, my plans to help young families with children.  And that’s the work that I’m going to continue to do, not taking anyone for granted, but knowing that I have to earn their support. 

And my plans and policies — including economists who have reviewed them — point to one fact, which is that my approach will strengthen America in many ways, including our economy. 

Donald Trump will weaken America and our economy. 

Q    Madam Vice President —

AIDE:  We’ll go to Ebony at CNN.  Ebony. 

Q    You’re — you’re making several stops in Michigan today.  Can you talk about your final pitch to Michigan voters today?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So I’m — I’ll be — I’m heading back to Michigan to talk with these working people, with families, with young people about the issues that they care most about.  They want to make sure that we’re going to lower prices.  They know that the price of groceries, for example, is too high; I know it too.  So, I have a plan to deal with that in terms — of a number of things, including dealing with price gouging. 

They want to know that they have an opportunity to live the American dream around homeownership.  That’s why my plan about giving people a $25,000 down payment assistance if they are first-time homebuyer matters to the people of Michigan. 

They care about American manufacturing.  I’m going to be talking about that again.  My plan includes what we will do to continue to invest in American-based industries, American manufacturing, and American workers.  That is how we are going to remain strong and globally competitive and win the competition for the 21st century with China and anybody else.

Q    One follow-up to your remarks about President Trump’s ra- — rally last night.  Some people who watched that made comparisons between a rally that happened at Madison Square Garden in 1939 with neo-Nazis or Nazis back then.  Do you see those comparisons? 

And can you also expand on what he said and what you said yesterday about Puerto Rico?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Donald Trump has — this is not new about him, by the way.  What he did last night is not a — a discovery.  It is just more of the same and maybe more vivid than usual. 

Donald Trump spends full time trying to have Americans point their finger at each other, fans the fuel of hate and division.  And that’s why people are exhausted with him.  That’s why people who formally have supported Donald Trump, have voted for him, are supporting me, voting for me. 

People are literally ready to turn the page.  They’re tired of it.

In terms of Puerto Rico, I — you know, even when I was in the United States Senate, I — knowing that Puerto Rico does not have a United States senator, I was intentional about doing what I could as a United States senator to make sure that among my priorities, it included paying attention to the needs of the people on that island, including in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. 

I have announced also my plan that is about my opportunity economy writ large, but a specific target that will include a task force focused on the needs of Puerto Rico, understanding that it has very specific needs in terms of upgrading and repairing its electrical grid, what it needs in terms of investment that will be public-private partnerships, and I’m going to continue to do it. 

I’m very proud to have the support of folks like Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez and others, who were supporting me before that nonsense last night at Madison Square Garden and are supporting me because they understand that they want a president of the United States who is about uplifting the people and not berating, not calling America a “garbage can,” which is what Donald Trump — those are the words he has used. 

So, there you go. 

I’ll see you later.  Okay, bye.

                        END                11:36 A.M. EDT

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris Before Air Force Two Departure | Joint Base Andrews, MD appeared first on The White House.

Joint Base Andrews
Prince George’s County, Maryland

11:31 A.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good morning.  Good morning. Good morning.   

Well, briefly, I think, last night, Donald Trump’s event in Madison Square Garden really highlighted a point that I’ve been making throughout this campaign: He is focused and actually fixated on his grievances, on himself, and on dividing our country. 

And it is not in any way something that will strengthen the American family, the American worker.  It is — nothing about what he is saying that is actually going to support the aspirations, the dreams, and the ambitions of the American people. 

It is absolutely something that is intended to and is fanning the fuel of trying to divide our country.  And as I’ve said many times — I’ll say tomorrow night in my speech — there’s a big difference between he and I. 

If he were elected, on day one, he’s going to be sitting in the Oval Office working on his enemies list.  On day one, if I’m elected president of the United States, which I fully intend to be, I will be working on behalf of the American people on my to-do list. 

I’ll take any questions you have.

Q    Madam Vice —

AIDE:  Let’s go to Tarini.

Q    Madam Vice President, Michelle Obama said recently that you’ve faced a double standard in this campaign.  Do you feel like you’ve had to clear a higher bar every day than Donald Trump?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  My role and responsibility of running for president of the United States is to make my case to the American people and to earn their support, and that is why I’m spending time traveling the country to listen to folks and to talk with them about my plans — my plans for strengthening our small businesses, my plan for helping people with homeownership, my plans to help young families with children.  And that’s the work that I’m going to continue to do, not taking anyone for granted, but knowing that I have to earn their support. 

And my plans and policies — including economists who have reviewed them — point to one fact, which is that my approach will strengthen America in many ways, including our economy. 

Donald Trump will weaken America and our economy. 

Q    Madam Vice President —

AIDE:  We’ll go to Ebony at CNN.  Ebony. 

Q    You’re — you’re making several stops in Michigan today.  Can you talk about your final pitch to Michigan voters today?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So I’m — I’ll be — I’m heading back to Michigan to talk with these working people, with families, with young people about the issues that they care most about.  They want to make sure that we’re going to lower prices.  They know that the price of groceries, for example, is too high; I know it too.  So, I have a plan to deal with that in terms — of a number of things, including dealing with price gouging. 

They want to know that they have an opportunity to live the American dream around homeownership.  That’s why my plan about giving people a $25,000 down payment assistance if they are first-time homebuyer matters to the people of Michigan. 

They care about American manufacturing.  I’m going to be talking about that again.  My plan includes what we will do to continue to invest in American-based industries, American manufacturing, and American workers.  That is how we are going to remain strong and globally competitive and win the competition for the 21st century with China and anybody else.

Q    One follow-up to your remarks about President Trump’s ra- — rally last night.  Some people who watched that made comparisons between a rally that happened at Madison Square Garden in 1939 with neo-Nazis or Nazis back then.  Do you see those comparisons? 

And can you also expand on what he said and what you said yesterday about Puerto Rico?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Donald Trump has — this is not new about him, by the way.  What he did last night is not a — a discovery.  It is just more of the same and maybe more vivid than usual. 

Donald Trump spends full time trying to have Americans point their finger at each other, fans the fuel of hate and division.  And that’s why people are exhausted with him.  That’s why people who formally have supported Donald Trump, have voted for him, are supporting me, voting for me. 

People are literally ready to turn the page.  They’re tired of it.

In terms of Puerto Rico, I — you know, even when I was in the United States Senate, I — knowing that Puerto Rico does not have a United States senator, I was intentional about doing what I could as a United States senator to make sure that among my priorities, it included paying attention to the needs of the people on that island, including in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. 

I have announced also my plan that is about my opportunity economy writ large, but a specific target that will include a task force focused on the needs of Puerto Rico, understanding that it has very specific needs in terms of upgrading and repairing its electrical grid, what it needs in terms of investment that will be public-private partnerships, and I’m going to continue to do it. 

I’m very proud to have the support of folks like Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez and others, who were supporting me before that nonsense last night at Madison Square Garden and are supporting me because they understand that they want a president of the United States who is about uplifting the people and not berating, not calling America a “garbage can,” which is what Donald Trump — those are the words he has used. 

So, there you go. 

I’ll see you later.  Okay, bye.

                        END                11:36 A.M. EDT

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Cross-border investment flows and the United States’ open investment policy contribute to our economic vitality. Countries of concern, however, are exploiting certain U.S. outbound investments in ways that threaten to accelerate the development of sensitive technologies and products that undermine our national security interests. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to keeping America safe by preventing countries of concern—namely the People’s Republic of China—from advancing in key technologies that are critical to their military modernization.

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a Final Rule to implement President Biden’s Executive Order 14105 of August 9, 2023, “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern.”  The Final Rule provides the operative regulations and a detailed explanatory discussion regarding its intent and application. 

As directed in the President’s Executive Order, the Final Rule prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in certain transactions involving a defined set of technologies and products that pose a particularly acute national security threat to the United States.  The Final Rule also requires U.S. persons to notify the Department of the Treasury of certain other transactions involving a defined set of technologies and products that may contribute to a threat to the national security of the United States. 

Covered technologies fall into three categories: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence.  This narrow set of technologies is core to the next generation of military, cybersecurity, surveillance, and intelligence applications. 

The United States already prohibits or restricts the export to countries of concern of many of the technologies and products covered by the Final Rule.  This program complements the United States’ existing export control and inbound screening tools by preventing U.S. investment from advancing the development of sensitive technologies and products in countries of concern.

Today’s announcement follows extensive and thorough consultations with hundreds of stakeholders, bipartisan members of Congress, industry members, and foreign allies and partners and two rounds of formal comments from the public. The announcement is the final step in the process President Biden announced in August of 2023 when he signed the Executive Order.

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Cross-border investment flows and the United States’ open investment policy contribute to our economic vitality. Countries of concern, however, are exploiting certain U.S. outbound investments in ways that threaten to accelerate the development of sensitive technologies and products that undermine our national security interests. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to keeping America safe by preventing countries of concern—namely the People’s Republic of China—from advancing in key technologies that are critical to their military modernization.

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a Final Rule to implement President Biden’s Executive Order 14105 of August 9, 2023, “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern.”  The Final Rule provides the operative regulations and a detailed explanatory discussion regarding its intent and application. 

As directed in the President’s Executive Order, the Final Rule prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in certain transactions involving a defined set of technologies and products that pose a particularly acute national security threat to the United States.  The Final Rule also requires U.S. persons to notify the Department of the Treasury of certain other transactions involving a defined set of technologies and products that may contribute to a threat to the national security of the United States. 

Covered technologies fall into three categories: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence.  This narrow set of technologies is core to the next generation of military, cybersecurity, surveillance, and intelligence applications. 

The United States already prohibits or restricts the export to countries of concern of many of the technologies and products covered by the Final Rule.  This program complements the United States’ existing export control and inbound screening tools by preventing U.S. investment from advancing the development of sensitive technologies and products in countries of concern.

Today’s announcement follows extensive and thorough consultations with hundreds of stakeholders, bipartisan members of Congress, industry members, and foreign allies and partners and two rounds of formal comments from the public. The announcement is the final step in the process President Biden announced in August of 2023 when he signed the Executive Order.

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White House announces new analysis of the strength and impact of NLEAD

President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to doing everything we can to make our communities safer, including by advancing effective and accountable policing. That’s why the President issued Executive Order 14074, Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices To Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety, which, in part, requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a national database documenting misconduct by federal law enforcement officers. The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD) is operational and searchable by federal law enforcement agencies, so that agencies are able to hire or promote the best personnel, and avoid hiring candidates with disqualifying histories.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is releasing a new analysis on the size and scope of NLEAD, which has the participation of every federal agency that employs law enforcement officers:

NLEAD is comprehensive.  As of last month, every one of the 90 federal agencies that employs law enforcement officers, consistent with relevant collective bargaining agreements, has reported into NLEAD as required by the Executive Order. The database contains 5,300 records covering misconduct for more than 4,300 past and present federal officers over the last 7 years.  There are currently more than 150,000 law enforcement officers across the federal government.

NLEAD is being used regularly.  This year, federal agencies already have conducted thousands of NLEAD checks to identify potential misconduct before making critical decisions about hiring, promotions, and officer work assignments.  

NLEAD is making a difference.  During these checks, NLEAD revealed dozens of positive hits – meaning instances of the types of misconduct identified in the Executive Order.  When there is a positive hit, agencies can get more details about these incidents from the entity that reported the misconduct.  This process has impacted holistic employment and officer assignment decisions, ensuring that officers who may undermine public trust do not end up in positions of authority.  After conducting NLEAD checks, agencies repeatedly have made adverse employment decisions.

The Biden-Harris Administration has improved transparency around state and local policing.  Most policing and most public interactions with police happen at the local level.  That’s why President Biden and Vice President Harris have continued to urge Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to implement policing reforms at the state and local level. But we are not waiting for Congress to act, the Biden-Harris Administration has encouraged state and local agencies to expand their use of the National De-Certification Index (NDI), a registry containing state and local police misconduct that is currently in place in all 50 states and DC.  Specifically:

1. DOJ structured $471 million in discretionary grants to give priority consideration to law enforcement agencies that use the NDI.

2. Law enforcement agencies can obtain accreditation through accreditation bodies if they adopt certain standards.  Pursuant to the Executive Order, DOJ created standards for these accreditation bodies that includes reviewing NDI as part of background investigations for officers.  Moreover, DOJ’s Community Policing Development program has been giving grant funding to agencies for them to obtain accreditation.

3. DOJ provided $3 million in grant funding to expand the NDI so that it includes information about the same misconduct types as NLEAD. 

Since May 2023, the number of NDI users has increased almost 75%, and the number of records in the database has increased almost 85%.  The average number of monthly queries has increased about 85%. 

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White House announces new analysis of the strength and impact of NLEAD

President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to doing everything we can to make our communities safer, including by advancing effective and accountable policing. That’s why the President issued Executive Order 14074, Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices To Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety, which, in part, requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a national database documenting misconduct by federal law enforcement officers. The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD) is operational and searchable by federal law enforcement agencies, so that agencies are able to hire or promote the best personnel, and avoid hiring candidates with disqualifying histories.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is releasing a new analysis on the size and scope of NLEAD, which has the participation of every federal agency that employs law enforcement officers:

NLEAD is comprehensive.  As of last month, every one of the 90 federal agencies that employs law enforcement officers, consistent with relevant collective bargaining agreements, has reported into NLEAD as required by the Executive Order. The database contains 5,300 records covering misconduct for more than 4,300 past and present federal officers over the last 7 years.  There are currently more than 150,000 law enforcement officers across the federal government.

NLEAD is being used regularly.  This year, federal agencies already have conducted thousands of NLEAD checks to identify potential misconduct before making critical decisions about hiring, promotions, and officer work assignments.  

NLEAD is making a difference.  During these checks, NLEAD revealed dozens of positive hits – meaning instances of the types of misconduct identified in the Executive Order.  When there is a positive hit, agencies can get more details about these incidents from the entity that reported the misconduct.  This process has impacted holistic employment and officer assignment decisions, ensuring that officers who may undermine public trust do not end up in positions of authority.  After conducting NLEAD checks, agencies repeatedly have made adverse employment decisions.

The Biden-Harris Administration has improved transparency around state and local policing.  Most policing and most public interactions with police happen at the local level.  That’s why President Biden and Vice President Harris have continued to urge Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to implement policing reforms at the state and local level. But we are not waiting for Congress to act, the Biden-Harris Administration has encouraged state and local agencies to expand their use of the National De-Certification Index (NDI), a registry containing state and local police misconduct that is currently in place in all 50 states and DC.  Specifically:

1. DOJ structured $471 million in discretionary grants to give priority consideration to law enforcement agencies that use the NDI.

2. Law enforcement agencies can obtain accreditation through accreditation bodies if they adopt certain standards.  Pursuant to the Executive Order, DOJ created standards for these accreditation bodies that includes reviewing NDI as part of background investigations for officers.  Moreover, DOJ’s Community Policing Development program has been giving grant funding to agencies for them to obtain accreditation.

3. DOJ provided $3 million in grant funding to expand the NDI so that it includes information about the same misconduct types as NLEAD. 

Since May 2023, the number of NDI users has increased almost 75%, and the number of records in the database has increased almost 85%.  The average number of monthly queries has increased about 85%. 

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New Castle County Office Warehouse and Training Center
New Castle, Delaware

12:31 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  First-time voter.  (Pointing to voters.)

Q    Mr. President, do you want to —

Q    Mr. President, is this bittersweet for you today?

THE PRESIDENT:  Pardon me?

Q    Is this bittersweet for you?

THE PRESIDENT:  No, this is just sweet. 

Q    Do you think she will win?

THE PRESIDENT:  I think we will.  I think it’s a —

Q    Mis- — Mr. President, can you come here and comment on former President Trump’s rally yesterday?  He was saying a bunch of stuff about immigrant —

THE PRESIDENT:  Embarrassing.  Just simply embarrassing.  It’s beneath any president, but that’s what we’re getting used to.  That’s why this election is so important. 

You know, most of the presidential scholars I’ve spoken to talk about the single most consequential thing about a president is character.  Character.  And there’s — he puts that in question every time he opens his mouth.

Q    Mr. President, Egypt has a new proposal for a ceasefire — a two-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.  What do you think about it?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m — my staff is talking to them right now.  I’m going to get out here, get on a secure line, and follow up on that. 

We need a ceasefire.  We should end this war.  It should end.  It should end.  It should end.

Q    Prime Minister Netanyahu stressed that negotiations under fire is better than negotiation during ceasefire.  What do you think about that?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll reserve that for my discussion with him.

Q    Mr. President, will we see you and Vice President Harris this week? 

Q    Mr. President, can you talk a little bit — are we going to see you with the vice president, Harris?  But also, do you wish more like candidates like Lisa Blunt Rochester were using you as a surrogate?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’ve done a lot of surrogate stuff.  And the fact of the matter is that I’ve also had to be president at the same time, so I’ve been in all the — all the battleground states.  I’ve been campaigning, but I also have to con- — continue my job as president. 

Q    Will you be on the trail with the vice president this week, sir?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ve been on the trail.  What — there’s –we’ve — we talk all the time, and they’re asking me to — where they think I should be to help them the most.  I’m going to be in Pennsylvania.  I’m going to head to Scranton and a few other places.  So, (inaudible).

Q    Sir —

Q    Are you concerned about North Korea?  Ten thousand troops now.

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  And you got — I don’t even want to — it’s very dangerous.  It’s very dangerous.

And the idea that Kamala’s opponent is talking to Putin and discussing what should be done — I mean —

Anyway.  I — I’m not —

Q    Sir — sir, Elon Musk is handing out checks to registered voters —

THE PRESIDENT:  Tell him I registered. 

Q    — registered — 

THE PRESIDENT:  A million dollars. 

Q    Do you think that’s legal conduct?  Do you think that’s election interference?

THE PRESIDENT:  I think it’s totally inappropriate. 

Thank you.

12:34 P.M. EDT

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New Castle County Office Warehouse and Training Center
New Castle, Delaware

12:31 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  First-time voter.  (Pointing to voters.)

Q    Mr. President, do you want to —

Q    Mr. President, is this bittersweet for you today?

THE PRESIDENT:  Pardon me?

Q    Is this bittersweet for you?

THE PRESIDENT:  No, this is just sweet. 

Q    Do you think she will win?

THE PRESIDENT:  I think we will.  I think it’s a —

Q    Mis- — Mr. President, can you come here and comment on former President Trump’s rally yesterday?  He was saying a bunch of stuff about immigrant —

THE PRESIDENT:  Embarrassing.  Just simply embarrassing.  It’s beneath any president, but that’s what we’re getting used to.  That’s why this election is so important. 

You know, most of the presidential scholars I’ve spoken to talk about the single most consequential thing about a president is character.  Character.  And there’s — he puts that in question every time he opens his mouth.

Q    Mr. President, Egypt has a new proposal for a ceasefire — a two-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.  What do you think about it?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m — my staff is talking to them right now.  I’m going to get out here, get on a secure line, and follow up on that. 

We need a ceasefire.  We should end this war.  It should end.  It should end.  It should end.

Q    Prime Minister Netanyahu stressed that negotiations under fire is better than negotiation during ceasefire.  What do you think about that?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll reserve that for my discussion with him.

Q    Mr. President, will we see you and Vice President Harris this week? 

Q    Mr. President, can you talk a little bit — are we going to see you with the vice president, Harris?  But also, do you wish more like candidates like Lisa Blunt Rochester were using you as a surrogate?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’ve done a lot of surrogate stuff.  And the fact of the matter is that I’ve also had to be president at the same time, so I’ve been in all the — all the battleground states.  I’ve been campaigning, but I also have to con- — continue my job as president. 

Q    Will you be on the trail with the vice president this week, sir?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ve been on the trail.  What — there’s –we’ve — we talk all the time, and they’re asking me to — where they think I should be to help them the most.  I’m going to be in Pennsylvania.  I’m going to head to Scranton and a few other places.  So, (inaudible).

Q    Sir —

Q    Are you concerned about North Korea?  Ten thousand troops now.

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  And you got — I don’t even want to — it’s very dangerous.  It’s very dangerous.

And the idea that Kamala’s opponent is talking to Putin and discussing what should be done — I mean —

Anyway.  I — I’m not —

Q    Sir — sir, Elon Musk is handing out checks to registered voters —

THE PRESIDENT:  Tell him I registered. 

Q    — registered — 

THE PRESIDENT:  A million dollars. 

Q    Do you think that’s legal conduct?  Do you think that’s election interference?

THE PRESIDENT:  I think it’s totally inappropriate. 

Thank you.

12:34 P.M. EDT

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Since Hurricane Helene’s destructive landfall one month ago, the Biden-Harris Administration has mobilized a Federal response that has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in financial assistance to survivors, substantial debris removal and power restoration, and a sustained commitment to long-term recovery efforts. As President Biden and Vice President Harris have said, their Administration will be with the people across the Southeast and Appalachia no matter how long it takes.

Thus far, the Administration has approved over $2.1 billion in Federal assistance for those affected by Hurricane Helene, as well as Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida shortly after Helene.

This includes over $1 billion in assistance for individuals and families to help pay for housing repairs, personal property replacement, and other recovery efforts. To date, the Administration has also approved over $1.1 billion in Public Assistance funding to support local and state governments. This funding is primarily being used to support debris removal, as well to pay for emergency protective measures like surging first responders and providing shelter, food, and water during and after the storms.

President Biden, Vice President Harris, and senior leaders across the Administration have spoken with and coordinated closely with Governors, Senators, Representatives, Mayors, and other state and local elected officials in impacted states before, during, and after the storms. The President, Vice President, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, and multiple cabinet members and other Administration leaders have been in impacted states to meet with state and local counterparts, survey damage, assess what additional Federal support should be prioritized, and meet with first responders and survivors. 

On October 26, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall traveled to North Carolina to coordinate recovery efforts with Governor Roy Cooper, FEMA, and philanthropic partners on the ground. She underscored the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to innovative partnerships that can speed recovery and rebuilding — through collaboration with state and local officials, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and philanthropic donors—for as long as it takes.

Nearly 5,000 Federal personnel remain deployed to North Carolina and Florida, working side-by-side with state and local officials, to help survivors get what they need to accelerate their recovery.

For communities affected by Helene, FEMA has delivered over 11 million meals and 9.6 million liters of water. FEMA now has 65 Disaster Recovery Centers open throughout all of the affected communities to provide survivors with in-person assistance with more opening each day. As of October 27, there will be 21 Disaster Recovery Centers open in North Carolina. Power and cellular service are restored for 99 percent of customers in impacted areas.

As communities begin their road to rebuilding, the Administration continues to provide support and resources, including:

Defense Personnel Supporting On-The-Ground Recovery

Throughout Hurricane Helene response operations, the National Guard and Department of Defense have been engaged in the whole-of-government response efforts across the impacted areas. Members of the North Carolina National Guard, together with active duty servicemembers and guardsmen from 15 other states, have conducted more than 1,200 ground missions and more than 400 air missions in coordination with the state of North Carolina, and under the direction of the Dual Status Commander. 

These efforts delivered more than 13,500 tons of humanitarian aid overland, and nearly another 2,000 tons through the air. This includes 614,881 gallons of bulk water, 4,331 pallets of bottles of water, and 3,108 pallets of food. Service members were active in route clearance – clearing hundreds of miles of roads, which enabled increased access to some of the hardest hit areas of the state.

From the onset of this mission, the primary goal of active-duty Department of Defense Title 10 personnel and equipment was to provide immediate, short-term assistance to aid the most urgent response efforts. As of last week, Governor Cooper determined that the active-duty troops were no longer needed for this phase, and active-duty service members transitioned their mission to the National Guard and returned to their home bases. The National Guard, working with FEMA, and other Federal, state, and local partners, will remain actively engaged to address ongoing needs, rebuild infrastructure, and aid communities in long term recovery.

The National Guard has roughly 2,000 Guardsmen, 65 high-water vehicles, and 7 helicopters still mobilized across seven states for the response to Hurricane Helene.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has more than 450 personnel engaged in missions across six states – supporting debris removal, temporary power, infrastructure assessments, , and safe waterways assessments. 

Supporting and Protecting Public Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking action to support providers and suppliers impacted by Hurricane Helene. These providers and suppliers may face significant cash flow issues from the unusual circumstances impacting facilities’ operations, preventing facilities from submitting claims and receiving Medicare claims payments. As a result of the presidential disaster declaration, and HHS public health emergencies declared in the wake of Hurricane Helene, CMS made available accelerated payments to Medicare Part A providers and advance payments to Medicare Part B suppliers affected by Hurricane Helene beginning October 2, 2024. CMS has also made available certain flexibilities related to provider and supplier fee-for-service Medicare debt.

Following storm damage from Hurricane Helene at Baxter International Inc.’s North Cove facility in North Carolina, the Biden-Harris Administration continues taking action to support access to IV fluids, including ensuring restoration of key production sites, protecting products, and opening imports, in partnership with manufacturers, distributors, hospitals, and other stakeholders. As a result of these steps, Baxter anticipates restarting the highest-throughput IV solutions manufacturing line within the next week. The Biden-Harris Administration also moved quickly to open up imports from six facilities around the world and made it easier for hospitals to produce their own IV fluid during the shortage.

Supporting Students and Student Loan Borrowers

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is partnering with disaster-declared states to determine the extent of impacts to educational communities; identify gaps in resources for response and recovery; and share critical resources to help restore learning conditions. These resources include Project SERV, which provides funding for local educational agencies and institutions of higher education that have experienced a traumatic crisis, including weather-related natural disasters, to assist in restoring a safe learning environment. 

ED is ensuring affected borrowers in areas impacted by the hurricanes can focus on their critical needs without having to worry about missing their student loan payments. Direct Loan borrowers and federally-serviced Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) borrowers in the affected area who miss their payments will be automatically placed into a natural disaster forbearance. During forbearance, payments are temporarily postponed or reduced, and interest is still charged. Thanks to regulations issued by the Biden-Harris Administration, months in this forbearance will count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income Driven Repayment forgiveness. Direct Loan and federally serviced FFEL borrowers are not required to take an action, but have the option to call their servicer if they wish to enroll in the forbearance proactively. Perkins loan borrowers should contact their loan holder to request natural disaster forbearance. 

ED continues to monitor impacts to schools in the affected states, including school closures, damage to school buildings including ongoing utility outages, schools being used as shelters, and the number of displaced students and staff. ED is sending an assessment team to North Carolina this coming week to evaluate damages and work with the state to develop a plan to get students back into classrooms as quickly as possible. In parallel, ED is closely communicating with the leadership of 531 Title IV-participating institutions, across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia due to impacts associated with Hurricane Helene. ED has also posted electronic announcements, reminding impacted institutions of available regulatory flexibilities, and providing guidance on managing Title IV student aid during disaster situations. 

Supporting Farmers, Agriculture, and Consumers

The Department of Agriculture (USDA), in coordination with approved insurance providers, announced more than $233 million to help farmers recover from hurricane damage during the fall harvest season. Currently, Hurricane Helene indemnities are estimated to be nearly $208 million for Georgia, nearly $13 million for Florida, $5 million for Alabama, and more than $4 million each for North and South Carolina.  

To date, USDA has approved Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) benefits to help eligible residents cover the cost of groceries in 112 counties in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. D-SNAP is a program focused on getting food assistance to those in need for people in communities affected by disasters, who may not otherwise be eligible.

Supporting Infrastructure and Transportation Recovery

Since Hurricane Helene made landfall, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been committed to helping water utilities and health departments in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina as they work around the clock to bring clean, safe drinking water back to communities impacted by the storm. EPA and its state and local partners have made significant progress restoring drinking water and wastewater services in a vast majority of communities. In Western North Carolina, EPA has deployed two mobile water testing labs. EPA has received and analyzed approximately 700 samples, giving residents clear data about the safety of their drinking water. In addition to water testing, EPA has collected approximately 1,000 containers with oil, hazardous materials, or propane since clean-up efforts began in North Carolina.  

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) continues to support response and recovery efforts in impacted communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) worked with partners in affected areas to ensure the national airspace quickly returned to normal operations. The FAA deployed personnel to conduct vital infrastructure assessments and restore communications to impacted towers and airports, including Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina and ongoing work at Valdosta Regional Airport in Georgia, among others. Approximately 133 personnel from Technical Operations and the communications support team remain on the ground supporting a range of response and restoration activities.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sent $144 million in “Quick Release” Emergency Relief funding to North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. These funds represent a ‘down payment’ to help with the immediate aftermath of the hurricane. Additional funding will be flowing to affected communities from the Emergency Relief program pending availability of funds. FHWA also worked closely with all impacted states and other federal agencies to help support their assessments of infrastructure damage.

Providing Financial Flexibilities to Homeowners, Renters and Taxpayers

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as well as foreclosures of mortgages to Native American borrowers guaranteed under the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee program. The moratorium and extension are effective as of the President’s disaster declaration date in each state. When homes are destroyed or damaged to an extent that reconstruction or complete replacement is necessary, HUD’s Section 203(h) program provides FHA insurance to disaster victims, including renters. Borrowers from participating FHA approved lenders are eligible for 100 percent financing including closing costs. HUD’s Section 203(k) loan program enables individuals to finance the purchase or refinance of a house, along with its repair, through a single mortgage. Homeowners can also finance the rehabilitation of their existing homes if damaged. FHA is coordinating and collaborating with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture to ensure consistent messaging and policies for single family loans regarding foreclosure moratoriums and repayment/arrearage agreements. Additionally, affected homeowners that have mortgages through Government-Sponsored Enterprises – including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – and the FHA are eligible to suspend their mortgage payments through a forbearance plan for up to 12 months.

The Internal Revenue Service announced disaster tax relief for all individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene, including the entire states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina and parts of Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. Taxpayers in these areas now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service provided more than 1,000 employees to help with FEMA disaster relief call lines and intake initial information to help disaster victims get federal relief. IRS Criminal Investigation agents were also on the ground in devastated areas to help with search and rescue efforts and other relief work – including assisting with door-to-door search efforts.

Supporting Workers and Worker Safety

Working alongside the Department of Labor, the States of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee have all announced that eligible workers can receive federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance to compensate for income lost directly resulting from Hurricane Helene. And, through the Department of Labor’s innovative partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, displaced workers from North Carolina and South Carolina can now go to the post office in any other state and verify their ID for purposes of getting their benefits quickly.

Additional Response and Recovery Efforts

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has offered over $51 million in tentatively approved disaster loan funding to survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The SBA also has hundreds of staff working on the ground supporting communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia in disaster recovery centers, as well as in loan processing and customer service centers that are fielding around 15,000 calls a day with an average wait time of 15 seconds. The SBA is continuing to process disaster loan applications while it awaits Congressional action to replenish their disaster loan funds.

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Since Hurricane Helene’s destructive landfall one month ago, the Biden-Harris Administration has mobilized a Federal response that has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in financial assistance to survivors, substantial debris removal and power restoration, and a sustained commitment to long-term recovery efforts. As President Biden and Vice President Harris have said, their Administration will be with the people across the Southeast and Appalachia no matter how long it takes.

Thus far, the Administration has approved over $2.1 billion in Federal assistance for those affected by Hurricane Helene, as well as Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida shortly after Helene.

This includes over $1 billion in assistance for individuals and families to help pay for housing repairs, personal property replacement, and other recovery efforts. To date, the Administration has also approved over $1.1 billion in Public Assistance funding to support local and state governments. This funding is primarily being used to support debris removal, as well to pay for emergency protective measures like surging first responders and providing shelter, food, and water during and after the storms.

President Biden, Vice President Harris, and senior leaders across the Administration have spoken with and coordinated closely with Governors, Senators, Representatives, Mayors, and other state and local elected officials in impacted states before, during, and after the storms. The President, Vice President, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, and multiple cabinet members and other Administration leaders have been in impacted states to meet with state and local counterparts, survey damage, assess what additional Federal support should be prioritized, and meet with first responders and survivors. 

On October 26, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall traveled to North Carolina to coordinate recovery efforts with Governor Roy Cooper, FEMA, and philanthropic partners on the ground. She underscored the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to innovative partnerships that can speed recovery and rebuilding — through collaboration with state and local officials, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and philanthropic donors—for as long as it takes.

Nearly 5,000 Federal personnel remain deployed to North Carolina and Florida, working side-by-side with state and local officials, to help survivors get what they need to accelerate their recovery.

For communities affected by Helene, FEMA has delivered over 11 million meals and 9.6 million liters of water. FEMA now has 65 Disaster Recovery Centers open throughout all of the affected communities to provide survivors with in-person assistance with more opening each day. As of October 27, there will be 21 Disaster Recovery Centers open in North Carolina. Power and cellular service are restored for 99 percent of customers in impacted areas.

As communities begin their road to rebuilding, the Administration continues to provide support and resources, including:

Defense Personnel Supporting On-The-Ground Recovery

Throughout Hurricane Helene response operations, the National Guard and Department of Defense have been engaged in the whole-of-government response efforts across the impacted areas. Members of the North Carolina National Guard, together with active duty servicemembers and guardsmen from 15 other states, have conducted more than 1,200 ground missions and more than 400 air missions in coordination with the state of North Carolina, and under the direction of the Dual Status Commander. 

These efforts delivered more than 13,500 tons of humanitarian aid overland, and nearly another 2,000 tons through the air. This includes 614,881 gallons of bulk water, 4,331 pallets of bottles of water, and 3,108 pallets of food. Service members were active in route clearance – clearing hundreds of miles of roads, which enabled increased access to some of the hardest hit areas of the state.

From the onset of this mission, the primary goal of active-duty Department of Defense Title 10 personnel and equipment was to provide immediate, short-term assistance to aid the most urgent response efforts. As of last week, Governor Cooper determined that the active-duty troops were no longer needed for this phase, and active-duty service members transitioned their mission to the National Guard and returned to their home bases. The National Guard, working with FEMA, and other Federal, state, and local partners, will remain actively engaged to address ongoing needs, rebuild infrastructure, and aid communities in long term recovery.

The National Guard has roughly 2,000 Guardsmen, 65 high-water vehicles, and 7 helicopters still mobilized across seven states for the response to Hurricane Helene.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has more than 450 personnel engaged in missions across six states – supporting debris removal, temporary power, infrastructure assessments, , and safe waterways assessments. 

Supporting and Protecting Public Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking action to support providers and suppliers impacted by Hurricane Helene. These providers and suppliers may face significant cash flow issues from the unusual circumstances impacting facilities’ operations, preventing facilities from submitting claims and receiving Medicare claims payments. As a result of the presidential disaster declaration, and HHS public health emergencies declared in the wake of Hurricane Helene, CMS made available accelerated payments to Medicare Part A providers and advance payments to Medicare Part B suppliers affected by Hurricane Helene beginning October 2, 2024. CMS has also made available certain flexibilities related to provider and supplier fee-for-service Medicare debt.

Following storm damage from Hurricane Helene at Baxter International Inc.’s North Cove facility in North Carolina, the Biden-Harris Administration continues taking action to support access to IV fluids, including ensuring restoration of key production sites, protecting products, and opening imports, in partnership with manufacturers, distributors, hospitals, and other stakeholders. As a result of these steps, Baxter anticipates restarting the highest-throughput IV solutions manufacturing line within the next week. The Biden-Harris Administration also moved quickly to open up imports from six facilities around the world and made it easier for hospitals to produce their own IV fluid during the shortage.

Supporting Students and Student Loan Borrowers

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is partnering with disaster-declared states to determine the extent of impacts to educational communities; identify gaps in resources for response and recovery; and share critical resources to help restore learning conditions. These resources include Project SERV, which provides funding for local educational agencies and institutions of higher education that have experienced a traumatic crisis, including weather-related natural disasters, to assist in restoring a safe learning environment. 

ED is ensuring affected borrowers in areas impacted by the hurricanes can focus on their critical needs without having to worry about missing their student loan payments. Direct Loan borrowers and federally-serviced Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) borrowers in the affected area who miss their payments will be automatically placed into a natural disaster forbearance. During forbearance, payments are temporarily postponed or reduced, and interest is still charged. Thanks to regulations issued by the Biden-Harris Administration, months in this forbearance will count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income Driven Repayment forgiveness. Direct Loan and federally serviced FFEL borrowers are not required to take an action, but have the option to call their servicer if they wish to enroll in the forbearance proactively. Perkins loan borrowers should contact their loan holder to request natural disaster forbearance. 

ED continues to monitor impacts to schools in the affected states, including school closures, damage to school buildings including ongoing utility outages, schools being used as shelters, and the number of displaced students and staff. ED is sending an assessment team to North Carolina this coming week to evaluate damages and work with the state to develop a plan to get students back into classrooms as quickly as possible. In parallel, ED is closely communicating with the leadership of 531 Title IV-participating institutions, across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia due to impacts associated with Hurricane Helene. ED has also posted electronic announcements, reminding impacted institutions of available regulatory flexibilities, and providing guidance on managing Title IV student aid during disaster situations. 

Supporting Farmers, Agriculture, and Consumers

The Department of Agriculture (USDA), in coordination with approved insurance providers, announced more than $233 million to help farmers recover from hurricane damage during the fall harvest season. Currently, Hurricane Helene indemnities are estimated to be nearly $208 million for Georgia, nearly $13 million for Florida, $5 million for Alabama, and more than $4 million each for North and South Carolina.  

To date, USDA has approved Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) benefits to help eligible residents cover the cost of groceries in 112 counties in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. D-SNAP is a program focused on getting food assistance to those in need for people in communities affected by disasters, who may not otherwise be eligible.

Supporting Infrastructure and Transportation Recovery

Since Hurricane Helene made landfall, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been committed to helping water utilities and health departments in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina as they work around the clock to bring clean, safe drinking water back to communities impacted by the storm. EPA and its state and local partners have made significant progress restoring drinking water and wastewater services in a vast majority of communities. In Western North Carolina, EPA has deployed two mobile water testing labs. EPA has received and analyzed approximately 700 samples, giving residents clear data about the safety of their drinking water. In addition to water testing, EPA has collected approximately 1,000 containers with oil, hazardous materials, or propane since clean-up efforts began in North Carolina.  

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) continues to support response and recovery efforts in impacted communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) worked with partners in affected areas to ensure the national airspace quickly returned to normal operations. The FAA deployed personnel to conduct vital infrastructure assessments and restore communications to impacted towers and airports, including Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina and ongoing work at Valdosta Regional Airport in Georgia, among others. Approximately 133 personnel from Technical Operations and the communications support team remain on the ground supporting a range of response and restoration activities.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sent $144 million in “Quick Release” Emergency Relief funding to North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. These funds represent a ‘down payment’ to help with the immediate aftermath of the hurricane. Additional funding will be flowing to affected communities from the Emergency Relief program pending availability of funds. FHWA also worked closely with all impacted states and other federal agencies to help support their assessments of infrastructure damage.

Providing Financial Flexibilities to Homeowners, Renters and Taxpayers

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as well as foreclosures of mortgages to Native American borrowers guaranteed under the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee program. The moratorium and extension are effective as of the President’s disaster declaration date in each state. When homes are destroyed or damaged to an extent that reconstruction or complete replacement is necessary, HUD’s Section 203(h) program provides FHA insurance to disaster victims, including renters. Borrowers from participating FHA approved lenders are eligible for 100 percent financing including closing costs. HUD’s Section 203(k) loan program enables individuals to finance the purchase or refinance of a house, along with its repair, through a single mortgage. Homeowners can also finance the rehabilitation of their existing homes if damaged. FHA is coordinating and collaborating with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture to ensure consistent messaging and policies for single family loans regarding foreclosure moratoriums and repayment/arrearage agreements. Additionally, affected homeowners that have mortgages through Government-Sponsored Enterprises – including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – and the FHA are eligible to suspend their mortgage payments through a forbearance plan for up to 12 months.

The Internal Revenue Service announced disaster tax relief for all individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene, including the entire states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina and parts of Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. Taxpayers in these areas now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service provided more than 1,000 employees to help with FEMA disaster relief call lines and intake initial information to help disaster victims get federal relief. IRS Criminal Investigation agents were also on the ground in devastated areas to help with search and rescue efforts and other relief work – including assisting with door-to-door search efforts.

Supporting Workers and Worker Safety

Working alongside the Department of Labor, the States of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee have all announced that eligible workers can receive federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance to compensate for income lost directly resulting from Hurricane Helene. And, through the Department of Labor’s innovative partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, displaced workers from North Carolina and South Carolina can now go to the post office in any other state and verify their ID for purposes of getting their benefits quickly.

Additional Response and Recovery Efforts

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has offered over $51 million in tentatively approved disaster loan funding to survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The SBA also has hundreds of staff working on the ground supporting communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia in disaster recovery centers, as well as in loan processing and customer service centers that are fielding around 15,000 calls a day with an average wait time of 15 seconds. The SBA is continuing to process disaster loan applications while it awaits Congressional action to replenish their disaster loan funds.

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Church of Christian Compassion
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

10:19 A.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, church.  Good morning.  (Applause.)  God is good.  God is good. 

Good morning.  Please have a seat, everybody.  Please have a seat.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)

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

And I see all our leaders — young leaders here as well. 

So, Pastor Herndon, First Lady Herndon, I want to thank you so very much for this warm welcome and for all you do.  We talked before we came back in, and these have been days and years that I think, for so many people, have challenged our faith and have really highlighted the importance of the type of leadership that you so importantly and beautifully provide to remind us that we are all in this together. 

And I’m so thankful to be with you.  I know of the work of this church and this congregation.  (Applause.)  And I thank everybody: clergy, church leadership, the elected officials who are here.  (Applause.) 

Mayor, I thank you for your sisterhood and your friendship and your leadership.  Speaker McClinton, it is — you are just — (applause) — when I look at the rising stars of our country, my goodness, the future is so bright.

To every member here of the Compassion family, to all the elected leaders, I thank you for the warm welcome this morning.  And it is truly an honor to — (applause).  

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Thank you. 

And it is an honor to be with you today on Pastor Appreciation Month — (applause) — right? — as we celebrate, of course, the leadership of this house of worship.  And I also — (applause) — and I also bring greetings from my pastor, Dr. Amos C. Brown from Third Baptist Church of San Francisco.  (Applause.)  And it is good to be with everyone and worship with you this morning.

So, in just nine days — (applause) — (laughs) — we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come.  And on this day, then — on this beautiful Sunday morning —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — I am reminded — (applause).  (Laughs.)

God expects us to help him.  (Laughter.)  We got work to do. 

But I am reminded of something that I think speaks deeply to this moment.  The apostle Paul wrote about the power we possess, the power of the people.  Right?  He wrote that God is able to do “more than we ask or think” — (applause) — “according to his power that is at work in us.” 

And Paul speaks of this power from experience.  In his life, he faced every kind of test and trial imaginable: shipwreck, persecution, prison.  And in every instance, he saw divine intervention.  But Paul understood something profound, I believe, Pastor: that God’s power doesn’t just work for us, it also works within us.  (Applause.)

I grew up in a church that took that lesson to heart.  As a little girl on Sundays — and I know my sister was here recently.  My sister, Maya, and I would go to 23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland, California, where we attended Sunday school, we sang in the children’s choir, and where I first learned in a way that I fully understood the teachings of the Bible and the power of faith. 

My earliest memories of those teachings are about a loving God — (applause) — a faithful God, a God who asks us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and to defend the rights of the poor and the needy — a God who empowers us to complete good works, not in our own power but through faith. 

 At church, I learned faith is a verb.  We show it in our actions, in our deeds, in our service.  And in hard times when we may grow weary in doing good, we must remember the power that works in us. 

The divine power that transformed Paul’s life, guided him through shipwreck, and sustained him through trials is the same power, church, that works in us today in our daily lives, in our communities, and, yes, in our democracy — (applause) — our power to advance freedom, justice, and opportunity not just for some but for all God’s children — (applause) — not just as the aspirations that are located in our founding documents but in practice in our daily lives.

And today, as we look ahead to a moment that will define the very character of our nation, I do believe Paul’s message holds great urgency. 

As a nation, we face real challenges.  We carry real —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We carry —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s why we fight for our democracy.  That’s why we fight for democracy.  (Applause.)  Every voice is important.  Every voice is important.  Every voice is important.

That’s all right.  It’s all right.  It’s all right.  Every voice is important.  (Applause.)  It’s all right.  That’s all right.

So — so, here’s the point.  There are th- — there are so many, for a variety of reasons, that carry a heavy heart and that want and must be heard.  We carry real burdens.  People feel real pain.  But like Paul, we must remember that divine power works through our actions.  And we have the power to move past division, fear, and chaos.  (Applause.) 

It is in and within our power to fulfill the promise of America, the promise to create opportunity for every child, to protect our basic freedoms; the power to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God — power the Black church understood and has used for generations — (applause) — all to help make sure America lives up to its extraordinary potential. 

And so, I will close with this point.  We have nine days — (applause) — nine days until we decide the future of our nation.  And I will tell you what feeds my spirit.  What feeds my spirit as I travel around our country, from state to state and church to church, I see —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But let me share with you what I see.  I see faith in action all over, everywhere I go.  (Applause.)  I see remarkable acts.  I see a nation determined to turn the page on hatred and division — (applause) — to chart a new way forward. 

I see Americans from so-called red states and blue states who are ready to bend the arc of history toward justice.  (Applause.)

I see young people organized for change.  (Applause.)

I see neighbors helping neighbors recover and rebuild from disasters.  (Applause.)

I see voters standing together in the fight to defend freedom, knowing we all have so much more in common than what separates us.

And while we know there are those who seek to deepen division, to spread hate, to sow fear, and to cause chaos, who suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down instead of, what we know, the real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.  (Applause.)

But I see all this, and it tells me why this moment in our nation has to be about so much more than partisan politics.  It must be about the good work we can do together, about our fundamental values, and about who we are as Americans and as people of faith.

Here in Pennsylvania right now, each of us has an opportunity to make a difference, because in this moment, we do face a real question: What kind of country do we want to live in?  (Applause.)  That’s before us right now.  What kind of country do we want for our children and our grandchildren: a country of chaos, fate — fear, and hate, or a country of freedom, justice, and compassion? 

And the great thing about living in a democracy is we, the people, have the choice to answer that question.  (Applause.)

So, let us answer not just with our words but with our works.  Yes, with our prayers, but also with our pressing.  Yes with our fate — and also our faith, but also our feet, as we walk to the polls.  (Applause.) 

And yes, in these nine days — these next nine days will test us.  They will demand everything we’ve got.  But when I think about the days ahead and the God we serve, I am confident that his power will work through us, because, church, I know we were born for a time such as this.  (Applause.)  And I have faith he is going to carry us forward. 

And the road ahead won’t be easy.  It will require perseverance and hard work, but in times of uncertainty, scripture reminds us, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”  (Applause.)

The path may seem hard, the work may seem heavy, but joy cometh in the morning.

And, church, morning is on its way.  (Applause.)

God bless you.  God bless America.  (Applause.)

END                 10:32 A.M. EDT

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Church of Christian Compassion
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

11:31 A.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi.  Good morning, everyone.  Good morning. 

Well, it is good to be back in Philadelphia, and we’re going to have a — an active day of speaking with folks in various neighborhoods around town and really highlighting something you hear me say often, which is: I truly believe it’s a lived experience to know the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. 

And so, we’ll be visiting with folks in different parts of town, talking with them about what we all have in common and — and a collective desire to bring the country together and to set a tone that really is about unifying our country around common desires and challenges, whether it be bringing down the prices of everyday necessities or what we can do to invest in our small businesses and lift up our families. 

And this obviously will be in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who increasingly is using dark and divisive language, even more than he — he has done in the past. 

He talks about America being the garbage can of the world and just continuously, I think, demeans the character and nature of who we are as America and who the American people are.  And clearly, it is intended to keep fanning the flames of — of hate and division; referring to beautiful American, historic American cities like Detroit and Philadelphia in such disparaging words.  And as we said, even just this morning, I think people are ready to turn the page.  And — and that is about all I have.

     AIDE:  Julia —

     (Cross-talk.)

     AIDE:  Hold on.  Julia.

     Q    Oh, thank you.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi.

 Q    Madam Vice President, Pennsylvania has been such a focus of this election for both campaigns.  What do you make of some of the activity that Elon Musk is involved in in this state?  Do you — do you worry about, you know, any little difference, including (inaudible) —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I haven’t really been paying attention.  I’m focused on our work.  (Laughs.)  But thank you for asking.

     (Cross-talk.)

Q    Madam Vice President, you’ve talked about new homebuyers and $25,000 for them. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.
    
Q    What about people who are currently in their homes as neighborhoods gentrify and prices go up?  What would you do for them?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, for cor- — current homeowners, there are — still facing the challenges, whether it be what we need to do around an issue I’ve addressed over the last four years, dealing with fair appraisal values and making sure that the appraisal system is fair, especially for people living in minority- and Black-owned communities — in terms of housing and home- — high levels of homeownership, we’ve seen bias there. 

But also just bringing down the price of everyday living, whether it be groceries and what I’m going to do to address things like price gouging, or what we need to do to expand the Child Tax Credit to help people have more resources at the fundamental phases of their child’s development; the work that we are doing that is about small businesses.

A lot of neighborhoods, as we know here in Philadelphia and around the country — those homeowners often are also small-business owners and need more support.  So, a lot of my plan is about giving them tax cuts, but also cutting a lot of the red tape so that they can continue to grow and prosper. 

So, there are a multiple — multitude of issues that affect homeowners, including, obviously, the challenges for homeownership itself. 

     AIDE:  Joey.

Q    Yeah, Madam Vice President, are you getting the turnout that you need right here in Philadelphia to win Pennsylvania, particularly among Black voters?  Are you concerned that you’re going to get the level that you need to to win this state?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’m very excited about the reports that we’re getting about enthusiasm here in Philadelphia.  And to your point, Philadelphia is a very important part of our path to victory, and it is the reason I’m spending time here, have been spending time here.  But I’m feeling very optimistic about the enthusiasm that is here and the commitment that folks of every background have to vote and to — to really invest in the future of our country. 

I think people are exhausted with things as they’ve been, and they’re prepared to act on their feelings about that.

     AIDE:  Akayla.

Q    Madam Vice President, the former president has said he’s spoken to Prime Minister Netanyahu multiple times this month.  Are you concerned that those conversations are undermining what the administration is trying to do in the Middle East?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  No.  And I do believe that it is critically important that we, as the United States of America, be an active participant in encouraging, one, that this war ends, that we get the hostages out, but also that there is a real commitment among nations to a two-state solution and the day after, and we have to fulfill that responsibility.

     AIDE:  O.J.

Q    Yes, Vice President Harris, as you go out in the community today, what is it that you can do or do you have a strategy to dispel all the informa- — all the mi- — misinformation in the political ads and what —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    — your opponent is spewing?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, to your point, there is a lot of misinformation, and he’s putting tens of millions of dollars into various TV markets around the country.  And what I’m heartened by is that folks in the community, when I am there, they are aware of it and, frankly, don’t want to be played.  They are aware of fact. 

And what I am seeing is that not only are they aware of the misinformation, but they are also aware, if not eager, to know and hear more details about my plan for them, whether it be, again, on the issue of homeownership; bringing down costs; investing in small businesses; investing in families, including families with children.  And — and folks are very receptive to that. 

I think people really do want to know and see and feel that their leaders and that their president is prepared to do the hard work of thinking about them, not themselves, unlike Donald Trump, and has a plan that will be implemented on day one.  And I’ve been very clear about that as well. 

Look, just imagine the Oval Office on January 20th.  It’s going to be one of two people.  It’s going to be either Donald Trump or me. 

If it’s Donald Trump, you can see what’s going — what that day is going to be.  It will be him sitting at that desk, stewing over his enemies list.  He is full of grievance.  He is full of — of dark language that is about retribution and revenge. 

And so, the American people have a choice.  It’s either going to be that or it’ll be me there, focused on my to-do list, focused on the American people and getting through that list of — of goals and plans to improve the lives of the American people. 

     AIDE:  Last one.  Jeff.

Q    Madam Vice President, can you give us a sense of your internal polling at the campaign and how that is making or influencing your decisions on what to do over the next nine days?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, to be very frank with you, my internal polling is my instinct.  (Laughs.)  I let the campaign people deal with the poll- — all that other stuff.  And I am responding to what I’m seeing. 

I mean, just two nights ago, we had 30,000 people show up — I think it was actually more than 30,000 people — with an incredible amount of enthusiasm.  If you see the people showing up last night, every event that we do — and the feeling is one of energy and excitement. 

What I love about the folks who are showing up is it’s every walk of who we are as a country and as Americans, every race, age, gender, from all different kinds of backgrounds together under one roof.  It’s very exciting.  The number of young people.  You know, I’ve begun to really point out the first-time voters who are there, because now people are actually registered.  And — and it’s — it’s very exciting.  And the momentum is with us.

     Q    Do you need to win Pennsylvania —

     AIDE:  Thank you.

     Q    — to win this election (inaudible)?

     AIDE:  Thank you.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Pennsylvania will be key, no doubt.  No doubt.

                             END                11:39 A.M. EDT

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