Vice Presidential Pool Reports of June 11, 2021

VP pool report #1: rolling to CentoNia

Good morning,

VP pool is on the move to CentroNia in Washington, DC. Pool has not set eyes yet on the VP. Pool reporters were COVID tested this morning at the White House before departing for her child care event later this morning.

Additional information on CentroNia:

https://www.centronia.org/mission/

VP Pool Report #2: classroom tour and color

The vice president toured a classroom at CentroNia and will soon give remarks. Color below from the classroom tour. She is currently giving a speech on child care that began at about 10:32 am.

She entered the classroom at 9:59 am and left at 10:14 am, spending 15 minute with the children.

One of the children told her that there were too many people and cameras in the room when she entered.

"I feel the same way," the VP replied.

She went around the room, saying hello to each of what appeared to be eight children who were wearing masks. The VP who is in a dark grey suit also wore a black mask.

"Good morning, Teddy. And you and I can talk about those cameras," she told a child.

"It's wonderful to be with you this morning," Harris told them.

The children were drawing photos for the VP.

"Are these for me?" she asked.

She sat down between two children, a little boy and a little girl, on a pint-sized chair. She told the girl, Celina Barrera -- according to staff -- that she had "beautiful penmanship."

A little boy named Jayson seated nearby gave her a picture, which he said was of his home. Harris commented that there were many windows on the house.

I like the use of the pink and the red, she told Jayson.

A little boy asked her about her flag label pin. "Why do I wear it? Because I'm the vice president of the United States," she told him.

She asked if he wanted to wear it.

"If he wears it, he's the vice president," a child said.

"For a minute!" Harris replied. She put the flag pin on the boy, who staff said was Jayden Bello.

Harris proceeded to work with the child, Jayden, on the J in his name in his signature. "I want to see that D," she said at another point in the hard to hear conversation.

Later, Jayson gave her another picture he had drawn.

"This is Jayson and that's me...Jayson that's fantastic. That's so great.... Is that the sun? Yes you brought the sun on a rainy day," Harris said.

(It was pouring earlier this morning.)

Harris asked if she could keep the picture and said she would take it to her office.

She continued to watch the children draw.

"Morris, this is very good. I love trees. I love rainbows." (Note: pool didn't get the spelling of Morris or his last name.)

All the kids later gathered around her to show her pictures. They also wanted flag lapel pins.

"You know what, I'm going to figure out how to get some more," she promised.

She suggested that they share. "You don't have to," telling him that's his choice.

They then sang her their kindergarten song. Pooler will send video later.

Afterward, she spoke to them more about the vice presidency. It was hard to hear, but Harris' gender came up.

"I'm the first one. But I won't be the last one," she said at one point.

Ending the visit, she said, "Bye guys. I'll see you later."

BACKGROUND:

Pool did not see the vice president arrive at CentroNia -- a bilingual early childhood education center. Reporters on this in-town visit were pre-set inside the classroom, which was identified as "PreK 5 - Eagles" and "Pre-Kinder 5 - Aguilas" on a sign outside the door. The children in this classroom are ages 4 and 5. The teacher's name is Ms. Billo Diawara.

Harris delivered remarks after this to a group of roughly two dozen, socially distanced teachers and administrators, wearing masks in another room.

Background from the VP's office:

Dr. Rosalina Burgos, senior director for childhood programs (black dress)
Ms. Billo Diawara, teacher (in grey and white)
Ms. Indira Salgado, teacher assistant (in red)

VP Pool Report #3: event wrap -- no questions -- WH return

Harris began her speech at roughly 10:32 with comments on her classroom visit. She said it reminded her of another time when she told a child that she could be anything she wanted when she grew up.

She said that children are "at the center of the Biden-Harris agenda.

Harris said she's often asked about her favorite part of being vice president,

"And I tell them everytime, because this is just the honest to God truth: we will lift half of America's children out of poverty."

She spent much of the speech talking about the Child Tax Credit expansion in the ARP and tthe Child Tax Credit Awareness Day on June 21 that the White House announced earlier today. (See below and separate White House factsheet.)

"Keeping your child care receipts is really important," she said, asking them to help get the word out.

"All of this to say, we are making progress. And still, there's more work to be done," she said, bringing up the White House's families' plan.

She said that accessibility and affordability -- both -- are needed. "In so many places in our country, child care costs more than college tuition."

She said that forces parents to make difficult decisions sometimes.

"The system's not working so well, for a lot of parents," she said.

*Please check these remarks against video later.*

Harris wrapped at 10:45 pm. She left immediately and before pool seated --- far across the room -- had a chance to shout any questions.

Pool was hustled out of the room immediately after the event ended. It joined the motorcade for an extremely bumpy and fast-paced ride back to the White House that lasted about seven minutes. It began at 10:50 am and ended at 10:57 am.

It was still raining when the pool returned to the White House and it did not see the VP but staffers who had been with her earlier at the speech were seen entering EEOB, where the vice president's suite of offices are.

Here's an Ottr link c/o CBS radio pooler Tim Perry: https://otter.ai/u/W14sqW50gcWQFVGpH7w8KFgT8wY

Video of the classroom visit to come in the next email.

And here is more background on the event sent to pool by the VP's office:

Today at 10:30, Vice President Harris will visit CentroNia, a child care center in Columbia Heights, to highlight the Administration's investments in childcare. She will:

• Announce Child Tax Credit Awareness Day on Monday, June 21st to ensure parents know about the American Rescue Plan's historic expansion of the Child Tax Credit and how it will benefit their families. Critically, as part of Child Tax Credit Awareness Day, the administration will encourage elected officials, organizations that fight for children, and faith-based organizations, to help low-income families—who may have such low-incomes that they are not required to file taxes—to use a new, easy Child Tax Credit sign-up tool to help give their children a lifeline out of poverty.
• Outline the administration's new guidance for elements of the American Rescue Plan that make child care accessible for more families: $15 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and an historic expansion of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. The administration is also announcing guidance for the ARP's six months of extended support for small and midsize employers offering paid sick and family leave in response to the pandemic through the Paid Leave Tax Credit.
• Make the case we need to pass the American Families Plan to make permanent investments that support parents and children – from the Child Tax Credit to high-quality, affordable child care to paid leave.

The administration released a fact sheet covering these announcements.

Additional Background

The Vice President's Work on Child Care

• Vice President Harris has been closely involved with the Administration's development and amplification of the child care efforts in ARP.
• She visited a child care center in New Haven, Connecticut and participated in a listening session on child poverty. (link)
• In April, she announced the release of $39 billion in child care funds from the American Rescue Plan. These funds include the $15 billion in Child Care and Development Block Grants for which Guidance is now being released. (link)
• The Vice President has had a strong focus on women in the workforce, calling the impact of women dropping out of the workforce during the pandemic a "national emergency." She has convened meetings with women and visited women-led small businesses to hear how they've been impacted by the pandemic – including how they have been impacted by the child care system. Here are a few examples:
  • The Vice President visited a woman-owned small business in Alexandria, Virginia to hear how the small business has been impacted by COVID-19 and to discuss the American Rescue Plan. (link)
  • The Vice President convened women leaders in Congress and women leaders of advocacy organizations for a virtual roundtable discussion on the critical importance of passing the American Rescue Plan – one of the reasons being child care. (link)
  • The Vice President wrote an Op-Ed in the Washington Post on how the exodus of women from the workforce is a national emergency, and why the American Rescue Plan is needed to address the challenge. (link)

Background on CentroNia

• CentroNia is a community-based, non-profit. For 35 years it has provided high-quality child care and out-of-school time programs. The families are mostly low-income, immigrant, working families. They currently have a capacity of almost 700 child care slots at 5 sites.

The Administration's Investments in the Child Care Industry

• The ARP invested $39 billion in child care including nearly $15 billion for the Childcare and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program and $24 billion for a child care stabilization, to provide grants to qualified child care providers affected by the pandemic.
• The AJP calls on Congress to invest $25 billion to upgrade child care facilities and expand the supply of child care in current child care deserts.
• The AFP will invest in high-quality early childhood care by providing funding to child care providers to cover the cost of quality care and education including developmentally appropriate curriculums, small class sizes, and inclusive environments.
• The AFP will invest in the child care workforce by ensuring a $15 minimum wage for early childhood staff and that those with qualifications like kindergarten teachers get similar pay.