Vice Presidential Pool Reports of February 27, 2023

VP Columbia Trip 02/27/23 Pool

Good morning, 

VP was wheels down in AF2 at Columbia Metropolitain Airport at 11:20 a.m., staff tell me. The weather here is 64 degrees and overcast. 

The VP was greeted by US Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC6) and Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann (R). The VP did a greet with Secret Service family members, supporters, students from a local high school, Divine Nine organizations, and state and local electeds @ airport per staff.

Drive time is usually about 20 min between airport and venue at Benedict College.

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I am not travelling to and from airport w/VP today.

My name is Alexander Thompson and I'm a statehouse reporter for the (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier. I'll be pool today. You can reach me by email at [email redacted by the APP.] or by text or phone at [phone # redacted by the APP].

#2 VP Columbia Trip 02/27/23 Pool

Pre-program remarks have begun at the David Swinton Campus Center at Benedict College in Columbia. 

The remarks will be livestreamed here. As it is being livestreamed, the quotes I provide will be limited.  Pre-program includes Benedict College President Roslyn Clark Artis (who is speaking right now), Dem'I Dale, a Benedict College Student, and Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann (R). The expected program order is U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC6), Monica Adams, the principal of Carver-Lyon Elementary School in Columbia, then the VP.

Press have not seen VP as we are in the venue's press pen already.  

Audience of about 300 (that's a rough guess) inside the campus center. Many appear to be affiliates of Benedict College, wearing purple and yellow Benedict swag or sorority and fraternity attire. Several students are wearing sashes and crowns, signifying their positions on the school's Royal Court. Democratic state pols and local officials are here.

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Background: The fact sheet from the VP's office is here, but the upshot is that the VP will tout the administration's Internet for All Initiative and, specifically, announce $175 million for 61 minority-serving institutions to improve internet access. The money comes from the $65 billion in the infrastructure law for affordable high-speed internet access. 

Harris will be joined by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC6). Clyburn has long fought for greater internet access nationwide, regularly filing his Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act that sought to provide rural communities across the country with affordable high-speed internet. When Harris was in the Senate, she was a sponsor of the companion bill in the upper chamber. 

Locally, Clyburn has partnered with S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster (R) to launch a state efforts to expand internet access. 

This trip will be Harris' fourth visit to South Carolina as vice president. The last time Harris was in South Carolina was Sept. 20, 2022, when she met with students at two historically Black colleges and spoke about the importance of voting ahead of the 2022 midterms. 

Benedict College is an HBCU founded in 1870 serving more than 1,700 students, per the college.

#3 VP Columbia Trip 02/27/23 Pool

VP has begun speaking at 1:15pm. Here is the livestream link again. Clyburn and Principal Adams spoke starting at 1 p.m. Benedict College students are on the risers behind her.

Clyburn, in his remarks, said that students from Carver-Lyon Elementary School (where the principal speaking is from) had the opportunity to "not only meet but interact with" VP.

Per staff, in addition to the $175m for minority serving institutions, VP will also highlight Affordable Connectivity Program enrollment up 40% to 16 million since launch of a website, and National Telecommunications and Information Administration will undertake an intentional HBCU engagement strategy.

#4 VP Columbia Trip 02/27/23 Pool

VP spoke for about 15min concluding at 1:29 p.m. She shook hands with some Benedict students on the risers and then began greeting people in the audience, shaking hands and taking photos. She is still doing so.

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A quote or two will be in the wheels up feed.

#5 VP Columbia Trip 02/27/23 Pool

VP left the room where speech was held at 1:47 pm after many photos. Pool watched VP's motorcade leave Benedict College at 2:22pm. AF2 wheels up at 2:54pm, per staff.

--- A few quotes

"The ability to connect to high-speed internet is not a luxury. It is a basic necessity," Harris said. "The internet is an essential part of everyday modern life."

"Now, for emphasis, affordable and accessible. Both. Because one doesn't work without the other," Harris said of the federal programs. 

"These investments will be transformative, because we know that when we connect folks with high-speed internet, we connect them with opportunity," Harris said. "We give people the power to build, for our collective benefit, healthier, happier and more prosperous lives for themselves and the people they love."

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Thanks for following along with us down here in Columbia. That's all from me.