Vice Presidential Pool Reports of April 22, 2021

VP Pool report #1 - Pool gathered

Good morning everyone!

I'll be your pooler for the vice president's meeting on the Northern Triangle this morning. Your pool has been tested and is gathered at the White House, where it's a chilly but sunny day.

Here's the WH guidance on the meeting:

At10:00AM EDT, the Vice President will convene a roundtable of foundation leaders on the Northern Triangle. There will be a pool spray at the top of this meeting in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

VP Pool Report #2 - Meeting participants

The VP's office passes along the following list of attendees for today's meeting on the Northern Triangle:

Arturo Aguilar, Director, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Stephen Heinz, President and CEO, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Mark Malloch Brown, President, Open Societies Foundation (virtual)
Nicky McIntyre, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for a Just Society
Eric Olson, Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation
Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation

VP Pool report #3 - Harris speaking

Pool entered the Ceremonial Office at 10:03 and VP Harris began speaking at the same time.

A few short quotes so far:

"The way I look at it, people don't want to leave home."

She mentions hurricane damage, food insecurity, violence and poverty as things she is looking at as factors that drive people to the border.

"We have to give people a sense of hope, a sense of hope that help is on the way, a sense of hope that if they stay, things will get better."

"This is an issue that has been a long standing issue. It is complex. If it was easy, it would have been solved a long time ago."

Notes the need for help from community organizations and the private sector, "both here and there."

Fuller quotes to come.

VP Pool report #4 - Pool out of room

Pool left the room at 10:09 AM - the VP did not take any questions. Will send more quotes shortly.

VP Pool report #5 - Fuller quotes from Harris

Fuller quotes from the VP:

"Most people don't want to leave home. They don't want to leave their grandparents, they don't want to leave the culture."

"So the question has to be 'Why do people leave home?' And often it is the case that people leave home when they don't want to either because they are fleeing sometimes, or because they are unable to satisfy their basic needs and the needs of taking care of their family. Because the resources and opportunities are not there. And so they have to go elsewhere."

"I don't need to tell this group of experts that this is an issue that has been a long standing issue, it is complex. If it were easy, it would have been solved a long time ago."

"We also know that the work that we can do there together, and the potential for the work that we can do together, will not be accomplished overnight."

"I've asked the leaders of major philanthropic organizations — not only nationally but globally — I've asked you to come together so I can learn from you. So I can hear from you. Many of you have been investing for years, like I said, in the region. I want to hear from you to know what works, what has worked, what has not worked. So that will help inform our strategy going forward."

"And the bottom line is that this initiative, from my perspective, must be effective and relevant to the underlying issue, which is addressing the acute and the root causes of migration away from that region."

That's it from me — thanks all! Feel free to reach out with any follow ups.