Vice Presidential Pool Reports of April 13, 2022

CORRECTION VP Supplemental Pool #1/Cabinet meeting

Correction - these are details for a meeting with Cabinet officials with the VP at 2:15.

On Background from a White House Official

Today, during Black Maternal Health Week, Vice President Kamala Harris is convening a meeting with Cabinet Secretaries and agency leaders to discuss the Administration's whole-of-government approach to addressing maternal mortality and morbidity. The Vice President will bring together leaders across the federal government – including agencies that may not have historically taken a leading role addressing the maternal health crisis. The Vice President's opening remarks will be livestreamed at 2:15 PM at www.whitehouse.gov/live.

In December 2021, Vice President Harris convened the first-ever federal Maternal Health Day of Action, where she announced a historic Call to Action to improve health outcomes for parents and infants in the United States. This resulted in the Administration's announcement of private sector and public sector investments. Ahead of the Cabinet Meeting, the Administration is following up with additional actions to address maternal health, and to combat the systemic inequities that lead to worse maternal outcomes for Black, Native American, and rural women. Read the White House Fact Sheet outlining today's announcements HERE.

Additional Background

• As Vice President, Kamala Harris has worked closely with President Biden and other leaders in the Administration to improve outcomes for Black women and their families.
  • The White House released a Presidential Proclamation to mark Black Maternal Health Week in 2021 and 2022.
  • In December 2021, the Vice President led a Maternal Health Day of Action Summit, noting the urgent need to address this crisis.
    • At the Summit, the Vice President announced guidance to help states provide 12 months of continuous postpartum coverage through their Medicaid programs, up from 60 days; a new HHS report showing the impact of state extensions of Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months; and CMS's plan to propose the establishment of a "Birthing-Friendly" hospital designation. She also announced that more than 20 companies and nonprofits have pledged to invest over $150 million and take other critical actions to address the maternal health crisis.
  • In April 2021, the Vice President hosted a roundtable on Black Maternal Health with Domestic Policy Advisor Ambassador Susan Rice. She was joined by women who shared their experiences with complications from pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum as well as their work in advocacy and research, highlighting the disparities that Black women face in maternal health.
• The Omnibus spending bill passed in March and signed by the President includes both the Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act and an expansion of the Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services (Rural MOMS) program.
  • These foundational bills authorize and improve programs to address the maternal mortality crisis in this country and build on current funding at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.
• Last fall, the Administration released the first-ever National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, which includes its vision to strengthen health care and women' health, including through addressing the maternal mortality crisis in the United States and abroad.
• As a Senator, Vice President Harris was a champion on the issue of maternal health. She brought racial disparities in maternal mortality, particularly for Black women, to the forefront legislatively, increasing awareness among her colleagues and leading to a broader discussion of racial disparities across other health issues.
  • She convened roundtables, lifted up local organizations that are focused on the issue, and ensured that initiatives on maternal health included references to racial disparities and relevant solutions.
  • She introduced several bills in the Senate specifically targeted to addressing racial disparities in maternal mortality, including the Maternal CARE Act and the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act.

VP Supplemental Pool #2/Meeting with cabinet officials

Vice President Harris began speaking at 2:16 pm for a meeting in her ceremonial office with cabinet officials about Black maternal health. Harris discussed the comparatively high maternal mortality rates for women in the U.S.

Addressing the issue of maternal morbidity and mortality is "about treating a woman as a whole human being," Harris said. She said that CMS is working to expand Medicaid post-partum, and that the administration is announcing a new designation of birthing-friendly hospitals and health care providers. She says the president told her today that the meeting of cabinet officials on this topic is "good stuff."

Here is the list of attendees:

1. Vice President Harris

2. Secretary Tom Vilsack, Department of Agriculture (virtual)

3. Secretary Martin Walsh, Department of Labor (virtual)

4. Secretary Xavier Bacerra, Health & Human Services

5. Secretary Marcia Fudge, Department of Housing & Urban Development

6. Director Shalanda Young, Office of Management & Budget

7. Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, Department of Defense

8. Deputy Secretary Donald Remy, Veterans Affairs

9. Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe, Environmental Protection Agency

10. Director Kiran Ahuja, Office of Personnel Management (virtual)

11. Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services

12. Acting Director Lawrence Tabak, National Institutes of Health

13. Administrator Carole Johnson, Health Resources & Services Administration

14. Ambassador Susan Rice, Domestic Policy Council

15. Co-Chair Jen Klein, Gender Policy Council

Attendees present in the room were masked.

VP Supplemental Pool #3/Meeting with Cabinet officials

Harris concluded her remarks at 2:22pm. Harris briefly addressed the shooting at the NYC subway yesterday after her remarks. She praised law enforcement officials and first responders. She also praised the heroism of New Yorkers.

Full quotes to come.

VP Supplemental Pool #4/Meeting with cabinet officials

Harris delivered remarks for about six minutes, from roughly 2:16 to 2:22pm, at the top of a meeting convened with Cabinet officials to discuss Black maternal health.

"This is an issue that is not just about health care, it is about treating a woman as a whole human being, understanding that if we are to expect and actually influence positive outcomes on this issue we must see her then as a whole human being," Harris said.

Harris said that this is the first formal meeting of Cabinet officials to discuss progress made since last year's White House Maternal Health Day of Action. To clarify from my previous email what Harris said about Medicaid: Harris said 12 states are working with CMS to expand Medicaid coverage from 2 months to 12 months post-partum. She also said that she had spoken to President Biden this morning about the topic.

"I was with the president this morning in the Oval Office, talking about many matters and many issues, and he said, 'Hey, the cabinet's coming together today on this issue. This is good stuff,'" Harris said.

On the topic of daily news, here's the full quote of what she said about New York: "I applaud all of the law enforcement officials, the first responders, and the New Yorkers. The civilians who were showing such heroism yesterday, such concern for their fellow person. And we will see what comes next in terms of the investigation and consequences for what happened yesterday. There's no question it was tragic, but it also did demonstrate the incredible work that is being done by first responders, by law enforcement officials, and by the community, in this case New Yorkers."

VP Supplemental Pool # 5 - DNC/Rolling Out

Hey there. I'm pooling for VP Harris' remarks at a private residence for a DNC finance event.

The home is that of Claire Lucas. I'll be sending along any color and highlights from the remarks as they come.

Harris walked out at 6:03 and is taking a picture with her policy team before getting into the car. We rolled out around 6:06.

VP Supplemental Pool #6 - Arrived and holding.

Arrived at the house at 6:18 after an uneventful ride. We saw some folks lining the streets taking pictures and video.

Pool didn't see Harris walk into the home. We are holding in the motorcade before the remarks.

VP Supplemental Pool — Event wrapped

From an official: Guests are a mix of folks from the LGBTQ community and also some longtime DNC supporters excited for the first in person opportunity with the VP.

I'm told by a DNC official, 86 people attended the event.

The Vice President came out around 6:39

Claire Lucas Deputy finance chair at the DNC.

Lucas is introducing Harris and says the DNC "blew past" their fundraising goal by 50 percent.

Harris and Lucas stood behind a lectern on the deck in the backyard of the home. The crowd stood in the grass near the covered pool.

"This is the first in person event I've done.

When I think about what we stand for as democrats. Yes we stand for equality. All people are created equal and should be treated that way.

Talked about being proud as the president of the senate to see Judge Jackson get confirmed.

"We as democrats we fight for so much of which are the foundational values and ideals of our nation including the fight for equality."

"Let me tell you about my week ... since ya asked. My week included being yesterday in Philly with a group of labor leaders talking about why we fight for the rights of working people."

"When I can't sleep I've been doing wordle."

Covered climate change, infrastructure and workers rights. Connecting the three priorities.

"Today I convened for the first time a presidents cabinet to talk about the issue of maternal health. We as democrats we aren't afraid to look at what's going on in systems and outcomes and challenge ourselves where are the inequities."

"As it relates to black women, it has nothing to do with her education or her income level. Remember Serena [Williams]? It has to do with racial bias in a healthcare delivery system."

Talks about her event on medical debt earlier on Monday.

"We as Democrats always ask ourselves 'are people suffering? Is it needless suffering? And is theee something we can do about it? That's who we are. Those are the kinds of things we stand for."

"Elections matter. Because the accomplishments we have been able to achieve so far, I am certain would not have occurred had it not been for all the work that you all did to turn out the largest numbers of voters we've seen."

"We need to as Democrats, remind people in this upcoming election of what's at stake, and why elections matter and what we stand for, and we're gonna have to be able to talk with them understanding where people are right now. Which is we are dealing with folks who have been through a whole lot in these last couple of years. And want and need I believe that we will see them for where they are, but also we can speak to where we know we can be in terms of continuing on this road that has been about progress. And so that's how I think about this moment. And I think about it then in the context of the work that we have to do. Part of what we have all done through each election cycle is we get on the phone and you call people you text people, you host people, you let people know that you see them and you remind them of what's at stake, and we're gonna have to do that again. And I think though, that this time it's going to be slightly different not only because of what everyone has been through a COVID, but also because and here's the good news. We're going to again, have people say to us which the thing they absolutely have a right to say, Why should I vote? And we can say well, first of all, thank you for standing in that line for however long it took hours for some people. Thank you for doing what was necessary in terms of the daily pressures of your life, to take the time to vote to take the time to fill out a ballot. And when you went to vote, we believe you were basically putting in your order. You said when you voted, I'm voting for this guy who promised he put the first black woman on the United States Supreme Court. And it happened. I'm voting for a party that believes we need to extend the child tax credit to give tax cuts to parents to help them be able to afford childcare and in the process we brought down child by almost 50. And you got it. You said I want to vote for folks who take the climate crisis seriously."

Harris spoke for about 20 minutes before putting on her mask and leaving the home.

Here's the full otter for those who want it: https://otter.ai/u/-7_4TmHAcFX-fXyEeeZgR_tQfPE

Harris' motorcade left at 9:08 for the naval observatory.

Check the quotes against the otter if you publish or tweet.

Have a good night everyone!