Vice Presidential Pool Reports of January 11, 2024

VP Travel Pool Report #1 — JBA

Good morning from Joint Base Andrews. I'll be your pooler today for VPOTUS trip to Charlotte, NC for a roundtable discussion on gun violence prevention. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will join Vice President Harris at the event.

VP arrived on Marine 2 at 10:09 am. Harris waved to the pool on her way up the plane stairs.

AF2 will be wheels up soon.

Background from the White House:

On Background From a White House Official:

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling to Charlotte, NC to convene students, educators, counselors, parents, gun safety advocates, and local and state leaders for a roundtable conversation focused on gun violence prevention and keeping kids safe. She will be joined by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.The 1:45 p.m. ETdiscussion will have a pool spray at the top that is open to pre-credentialed press and will be livestreamed at www.WhiteHouse.Gov/Live.

During the discussion at a Charlotte-area middle school, Vice President Harris will announce an additional $285 million in funding to help schools across the country hire and train mental health counselors. The funding to hire and train counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals is a result of the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This legislation is also the single largest investment in student mental health in history and will help to hire and train more than 14,000 school mental health professionals throughout America.

The Vice President will also announce more than $6 million for community violence intervention through the Department of Education. This funding is being awarded to seven school districts across the country 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.

This will be the Vice President's ninth trip to North Carolina since being sworn in.

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 more than 1,000 deaths from gun violence in just the first 10 days of 2024.

Additional background about the Vice President's record on combatting gun violence since taking office:

Since being sworn in, Vice President Harris has grieved with families directly impacted by gun violence across the nation – from Monterey Park, CA and Highland Park, IL, to Buffalo, NY and Nashville, TN. She has also continued to partner with gun safety advocates throughout the nation:

• Last month, 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 across the country.

• 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.

• 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 administrationannounced 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."

• 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 Travel Pool Report #2 — NC arrival

AF2 landed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport at 11:28 am, after an uneventful 65-minute flight. No visitors to the back of the plane.

VPOTUS deplaned at 11:39 am.

Harris was greeted on the tarmac by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles. They chatted briefly.

VPOTUS then walked over to a small crowd of people assembled behind a barrier on the tarmac and spent a few minutes shaking hands and taking selfies.

Pool was loaded into a press van while Harris was finishing working the rope line.At 11:58 am, the motorcade is rolling to Eastway Middle School.

VP Travel Pool Report #3 — school arrival

VPOTUS arrived at Eastway Middle School in the Charlotte area at 12:16 pm, after a 20-minute drive. A few people lined the route near the school to watch the motorcade roll by.

At 12:19 pm, Harris exited and stopped to speak with a group of students gathered outside the school.

VP said she has young leaders in mind when she thinks about meeting future challenges. "I believe everybody was born a leader," Harris said.

Harris proceeded to shake hands with several students and take pictures as a school cheerleading team chanted in the background.

At 12:32 pm, VPOTUS entered the school where the gun violence prevention event will take place.

Pool was brought into a press hold at the school and is now waiting for the pool spray at the top of the roundtable discussion.

The spray will be live-streamed by the White House.

VP Travel Pool Report #4 — pool spray starts

Pool was led into a large room at Eastway Middle School at 1:55 pm.

VPOTUS was seated at the center of a semicircular table, next to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, the mayor of Charlotte, and other officials.

When the pool and local press was assembled, Sec. Cardona kicked off the pool spray.

As a reminder, the White House is live-streaming this pool spray.

VP Travel Pool Report #5 — remarks over

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona introduced VPOTUS with very brief remarks on gun violence and mental health. Cardona then turned the floor over to Harris.

VP started her remarks at approximately 2 pm. She said she had met with students at the school before the pool spray to listen to their stories about experiencing gun violence.

"The number one killer of our children in America is gun violence," Harris said.

VP announced $285 million in funding to hire and train mental health counselors in schools.

"More resources are needed no doubt, but let's pay attention to this issue," Harris said.

Harris wrapped her remarks at 2:08 pm. She turned it back to Sec. Cardona, and he introduced three other speakers for opening remarks.

List of speakers, from the WH:

Charlotte Mayor Lyles, Eastway Middle School Counselor Corteasia Riddick, and high school student Malachi Thompson.

Pool was led out at 2:20 pm and will hold for the remainder of VP's roundtable discussion.

VP Travel Pool Report #6 — rolling to airport

The gun violence prevention event has concluded. Pool did not see VPOTUS exit the school or join the motorcade.

We are now rolling at 3:21 pm back to Charlotte Douglas International Airport for the return flight to Washington, D.C.

VP Travel Pool Report #7 — unscheduled stop

On the way back to the airport VPOTUS made an unscheduled stop at a small business in Charlotte.

En route, near the school VPOTUS visited, the motorcade passed a few dozen protestors gathered on the side of the road waving Palestinian flags and signs that said "Stop the Violence" in Gaza.

The unscheduled stop was at the restaurant Leah & Louise. VPOTUS walked in at 3:34 pm and greeted the restaurant owners and a few other people.

The restaurant owners chatted with the VP about their challenges running the restaurant during the pandemic.

"One of the greatest gifts you can give somebody is a good meal," Harris said at one point.

After talking for a couple of minutes, Harris said she was there to pick up a to-go order and ticked off the items, which included a macaroni and cheese and fried catfish.

Pool was ushered out at 3:42 pm as VPOTUS' to-go order came out of the kitchen.

At 3:46, Harris exited the restaurant and stopped to talk very briefly to roughly two-dozen people gathered across the street.

At 3:50 pm, the motorcade is rolling to the airport.

VP Travel Pool Report #8 — NC departure

VPOTUS arrived at Charlotte Douglas International Airport at 4:08 pm for the flight back to D.C.

Harris boarded AF2 without stopping to talk to the pool.

AF2 will be wheels up soon.

VP Travel Pool Report #9 — JBA arrival

AF2 landed at JBA at 5:19 pm following a quick, smooth flight.

VPOTUS deplaned at 5:33 pm and walked immediately to Marine 2.

Marine 2 lifted off at 5:38 pm.

Have a good evening,