Vice Presidential Pool Reports of February 9, 2024

VP pool report #1

Hello from the EEOB where the vice president is delivering remarks to community violence intervention leaders from 21 cities on reducing gun violence and keeping communities safe.

Pool is waiting for the VP to enter the EEOB's Indian Treaty Room where the remarks are scheduled to begin at 12:15pm.

You can watch the VP's remarks here: https://www.youtube.com/live/uiEQqEXaE4s?si=tyISOEIRye6Z2Gmr

Until then, passing along this background:

On Background From a White House Official:

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris is participating in a convening of community violence intervention leaders from 21 cities in 17 states across the country. During her remarks at the White House, the Vice President will underscore the role that community violence intervention plays in reducing gun violence and keeping communities safe. She will also highlight the more than $250 million in funding for community violence intervention programs that is a result of the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years. This gathering is the culminating ceremony of Community Violence Awareness Week, which is being coordinated by the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The 12:15 p.m. ET event will be pooled and livestreamed at WhiteHouse.Gov/Live.

Vice President Harris continues to lead on addressing the epidemic of gun violence while overseeing the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The Vice President also continues to call on Congress to renew the assault weapons ban, pass red flag legislation, and require background checks for all gun sales at a time when guns are the leading cause of death for children in America and there have already been 38 mass shootings in just the first 39 days of 2024.

Additional background about the Vice President's record of fighting for the freedom to live safe from gun violence:

• Last month, Vice President Harris convened a roundtable discussion at a middle school in Charlotte, NC where she announced an additional $285 million in funding to help schools hire and train mental health counselors. The funding is a result of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which is the single largest investment in student mental health in history.

• In January, the Vice President also announced more than $6 million for community violence intervention through the Department of Education. This funding was awarded to seven school districts as part of the Project Prevent grant program, which will support community- and school-based strategies to help prevent and mitigate the impacts of community violence on students, including exposure to gun violence.

• In December, she convened nearly 100 state legislators from 39 states to launch the Biden-Harris Administration's Safer States Initiative, which will provide states with additional tools and support to advance commonsense gun safety initiatives and save lives in communities.

• In December, she met with Gabby Giffords and gun safety advocate Trevon Bosley to discuss ongoing work to end gun violence.

• In September, she welcomed Grammy-nominated artist Quavo from the hip hop group Migos to the White House for a conversation about advancing commonsense gun safety policies.

• In August, she headlined Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund's annual Gun Sense University conference.

• In June, she traveled to Springfield, VA to mark Gun Violence Awareness Day and deliver remarks calling on young people to continue leading efforts to end gun violence – a message she brought to every campus on her nationwide "Fight for Our Freedoms" college tour that took place this fall with more than 15,000 students in attendance.

Additional background about the Vice President's record on combatting gun violence prior to being sworn in:

• As District Attorney, Vice President Harris prosecuted homicide cases and saw first-hand the devastation of gun violence. She also invested in community violence intervention efforts by championing Community Response Networks.

• As Attorney General of California, Vice President Harris worked to get illegal firearms off the street and to prosecute gun trafficking.

• As Senator, Vice President Harris co-sponsored several pieces of gun safety legislation, including an assault weapons ban.

Additional background about the Biden-Harris administration's actions to reduce gun violence:

• In September 2023, President Biden established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which is being overseen by Vice President Harris.

• In May 2023, the administration announced more than a dozen actions to reduce gun violence.

• In March 2023, the President signed an Executive Order which improved regulation of gun dealers, including clarifying the definition of who is engaged in the business of dealing in firearms in order to increase compliance with the federal background check requirement for firearm sales; promoting extreme risk protection orders; and developing policies designed to ensure the prompt entry of ballistics data recovered in criminal investigations into the national database.

• In June 2022, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which enhances background checks for people under 21 by requiring an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, invests in mental health services, increases grant funding for implementation of state red flag laws (i.e., extreme risk protection orders), and protects domestic violence victims by closing the "boyfriend loophole."

• In March 2021, Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking Senate vote to advance the American Rescue Plan, which has provided over $15 billion to prevent crime and promote public safety, including through community violence intervention programs and crisis responders.

• The President has also signed more than two dozen executive actions to provide crucial funding and other authorities to help keep guns out of dangerous hands.

VP pool report #2

The VP responded to a question at the end of her remarks about the special counsel report, calling how the president was characterized in the report "politically motivated."
"Could not be more wrong on the facts and clearly politically motivated."
Watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/uiEQqEXaE4s?si=tyISOEIRye6Z2Gmr
More to come.

VP pool report #3

A few more quotes from the VP's response to a question about the special counsel report:

VP said she has been "privileged and proud" to serve with the President.

"As a former prosecutor," she said the comments in the report were "gratuitous, inaccurate and inappropriate."

She talked about watching the president respond to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, right before the special counsel interviews.
"The President was in front of and on top of it all."

"The way that the president's demeanor in that report was characterized could not be more wrong on the facts and clearly politically motivated."

More on the event:
The VP entered the EEOB's Indian Treaty Room and took the podium at 12:42 to a standing ovation from the community violence intervention leaders in attendance. Guests took pictures and videos as she walked in.

Guests were seated in rows facing a small stage with a podium with the seal of the vice president. There was a screen next to the stage reading: "Community Violence Awareness Week Culminating Ceremony." A White House official, on background, said about 100 guests were invited. Two people spoke before the VP.

The VP congratulated the first graduating cohort of the University of Chicago Crime Lab's Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy.

Real leaders, the VP said, have "some level of curiosity and concern and care about the suffering of others and then take
it upon themselves as part of their life's work and mission to uplift."

"When it comes to gun violence, we've got a lot of work to do"
The VP pointed to the Capitol after talking about work that needs to be done. She called for, as she and the president often do, an "assault weapons ban."

She mentioned the important of access to mental health care that is also "culturally competent."

She wrapped up remarks at 12:53 and then took a picture and shook hands with the community violence intervention leaders.

Please check quotes against transcript/stream.

That's all – have a good weekend.