Vice Presidential Pool Reports of June 17, 2022

VP travel pool #1/arrival in Pittsburgh

Vice President Kamala Harris touched down at 11:04 a.m. at the Allegheny County Airport just outside of Pittsburgh.

She disembarked AF2 at 11:16 a.m. under sunny skies and 80 degree weather.

She was joined by Secretary Marcia Fudge, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Administrator Michael Regan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Congressman Conor Lamb were on the tarmac to greet the Vice President.

From the airport, she’ll head to the Community Empowerment Association, a community center in Homewood, an Eastern neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

As part of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s attempts to replace and remove lead water lines, various streets in this neighborhood has its service lines replaced last year.

At the community center, Harris will speak with community members and give remarks about the Federal dollars designated to removing lead from service lines.

VP travel pool #2/ community meeting

At 1 p.m. Vice President Harris met with community members in a private room of the Community Empowerment Association building in Pittsburgh.

Joining the Vice President at the community meeting were Kim Clark-Baskin and Gwendolyn Marcus, Pittsburgh residents who have been impacted by lead pipes and Hanna Beightlet, a Healthy Homes Program Advocate with the nonprofit Women for a Healthy Environment.

Also at the meeting were Secretary Marcia Fudge from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Administrator Michael Regan from the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Secretary Fudge and I have been together with Administrator Regan from the EPA have been working on this issue for quite some time, thinking about it deeply in terms of the seriousness of it and the impact in terms of what we're doing in terms to fix it," Vice President Harris said during the meeting.

Seated at a round table, the Vice President said she wanted to discuss how the lead problem was going to be handled and why it was an important issue to take care of.

"I think three principles are at play. There's the piece that is about equity, which is, literally different communities are dealing with this differently based on what resources they have … It is an issue that is about public health because of the harm, and then because of the harm it makes it an issue that is also about education, meaning can our babies learn if they're drinking from toxic water," the Vice President said.

Vice President Harris will give full remarks, joined by Congressman Mike Doyle and Conor Lamb around 1:45 p.m.

VP Travel Pool # 3/ remarks

Vice President Harris addressed media members around 1:45 p.m. along with local leaders like Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Congressmen Mike Doyle and Conor Lamb.

The administration's plan is to work together with local governments to help remove and replace lead pipes and paint but also to educate communities on the harm lead can cause and the solutions for people facing these issues.

She referred to Pittsburgh as a "model of what can and will happen around the country."

Secretary Fudge also announced that HUD will be issuing a $520 million grant to address hazards in homes, like lead paint.

Quotes from Vice President Harris:
"We, President Joe Biden and I, our administration, we all believe that all people have a right to be able to drink clean water, that all people have a right to breathe clean air. So we approach this from that perspective."

"If you're working three jobs, if you're working minimum wage, trying to make it day to day probably can't afford that's where government has the responsibility to kick in."

"On the issue of lead pipes we know up to 10 million homes in our country have lead pipes that are feeding the water that flows in their home. We know that when it comes to lead paint, we're looking at at least 24 million homes that have lead paint. And those are the numbers that have been reported ... There are plenty of folks who live in homes whether they be renters or owners that may be unaware there is lead in their paint or in the pipes."

vp travel Pool #4/ Tree of Life visit

Vice President Harris made a stop at the Tree of Life Or L’Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where a mass shooting that killed 11 worshippers occurred in October 2018.

Accompanied by her husband Doug Emhoff, the pair spoke with Rabbi Jeffery Meyers outside the synagogue and placed a rock in remembrance in an outdoor courtyard.

VP Travel Pool #5/synagogue visit

On the Vice President's visit to the Tree of Life Synagogue Friday afternoon:

"The Vice President and Second Gentleman paid their respects at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh today. They are inspired by the strength of this community after such a devastating tragedy, and continue to bring people together to fight anti-semitism and confront the epidemic of hate in our nation." -Herbie Ziskend, Senior Advisor for Communications