Vice Presidential Pool Reports of March 30, 2022

VP pool report #1 -- gather

Hi, am your VP pool reporter for today's event at Howard University. We are gathered on this unseasonably chilly morning and waiting to head to the event, which is scheduled to begin at 9:45. Please write here or call (202) 361-8386 with any questions.

Below is background information from the White House.

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Hi everyone, below is information ahead of tomorrow's events, on background from a White House Official.

Background on VP's meeting with Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica

Vice President Kamala Harris is looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica to the White House on March 30 for a bilateral meeting. This year is the 60th anniversary of U.S. and Jamaica establishing diplomatic ties, and this visit will underscore the importance of the U.S.-Jamaica partnership to the Biden-Harris Administration as well as our work with the Caribbean region more broadly as we take on regional and global challenges together. The Vice President and Prime Minister will discuss a range of issues include: ending the COVID-19 pandemic, economic growth and recovery, and climate and energy security, among other issues. The U.S.-Jamaica partnership is based on deep economic and people-to-people ties and shared interests in our Hemisphere. The Vice President is looking forward to strengthening this partnership during this visit and in the months and years ahead.

Embargoed: Background on VP's Announcements Supporting Community Lenders

On Wednesday, Vice President Harris will visit Howard University as the Greater Washington Partnership announces $4.7 billion toward advancing inclusive growth in the capital region. She will make important announcements about how the Biden-Harris Administration is assisting community lenders to ensure that small business owners in all communities have the resources needed to start and grow their businesses. The Vice President will deliver remarks about the importance of building a more inclusive and equitable economy. She will be joined by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Guzman.

Additional Background:

• The Vice President is playing a lead role ensuring small business owners – in every community – have the capital and resources they need to start and grow a business.
• The Vice President's first external meeting after taking office was with small business owners – and since then, the Vice President has continued to work to ensure all of America's entrepreneurs, regardless of zip code, have access to capital so they can launch a business.
• Building on her leadership in the Senate – where she secured $12B for community lenders in December 2020, the Vice President has worked with Secretary Yellen to get funds to community lenders who support small business owners in underserved areas.
• She also worked with President Biden to implement PPP and ensure the American Rescue Plan included relief for small business owners.
• The Vice President has traveled the country meeting with small business owners to discuss challenges and opportunities they face – because she believes that if we harness the full potential and talent of all our entrepreneurs, we can build a better and more prosperous future.

Biden-Harris Administration Expands SBA Pilot Program Targeting Access to Capital for Underserved Entrepreneurs

Vice President Kamala Harris Unveils Improvements to SBA Community Advantage Pilot Program at White House Event with SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman, Extending it to 2024, Ending New Lender Moratorium, and Lifting Loan Caps

WASHINGTON – Today, Vice President Kamala Harris and Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)and the voice for America's 32.5 million small businesses in President Biden's Cabinet, will announce impactful reforms to the agency's Community Advantage (CA) loan program, a key SBA tool for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Community Development Companies (CDCs), microlenders and other critical mission-based lending partners, that prioritizes equitable access to capital for low-income borrowers and those from underserved communities.

"America's mission-driven lenders have been a critical partner to the SBA in getting much-needed financial relief to underserved businesses throughout the COVID pandemic. Scaling the SBA's Community Advantage pilot program will help us build on that momentum, create a broader distribution network and better ensure the opportunities of our nation's accelerating recovery are accessible to more entrepreneurs pursuing their American dreams of starting and growing a successful business," said Administrator Guzman. "The Community Advantage pilot expansion and reforms reflect the central role that President Biden and Vice President Harris have given to building equity across this Administration and removing historic inequities and barriers that have limited economic growth for all. My thanks to Vice President Harris, a longtime champion for Community Development Financial Institutions and other mission-driven lenders, for supporting this important change and helping to improve access to capital for more American entrepreneurs."

Among the reforms being announced today for the Community Advantage program, the SBA will:

• Extend the pilot programto September 30, 2024, providing more certainty for the Community Advantage program, which was set to end in September 2022.
• Lift the four-year lender moratorium and enable the SBA to grow this important lender network, opening up a critical capital program to more mission-based lenders across the country.
• Increase the maximum loan size, the new expanded number of lenders will be allowed to access the SBA's 7(a) government-guaranteed loan program at lending levels up to $350,000, which represent an increase over the current levels of $250,000.
• Remove the restrictions that can keep individuals with criminal backgrounds from accessing the Community Advantage program.
• Simplify underwriting and collateral requirements for borrowers and lenders, including increasing the maximum unsecured loan size from $25,000 to $50,000, removing barriers that disproportionally impact underserved borrowers.
• Introduce additional abilities for lenders to make revolvers and lines of credit, interest-only periods, and other loan modifications that meet borrowers where they are to best serve their capital needs.
• Redefine packaging fee guidelines to better enable CDFIs, CDCs, and mission lenders participating in the Community Advantage program to scale and increase volume to underserved communities.

History of the Community Advantage Pilot Program: Filling Gaps by Connecting Underserved Small Businesses to Capital

Designed to meet the credit, management, and technical assistance needs of small businesses in underserved markets, the SBA's Community Advantage pilot loan program was launched during the Obama-Biden Administration and originally set to expire in September 2022. The program was intended to provide mission-oriented lenders, primarily nonprofit financial intermediaries focused on economic development, access to 7(a) loan guarantees previously for loans of only $250,000 or less. Community Advantage continues to be the best avenue to allow mission-driven lenders to access SBA 7(a) loans. The SBA's goals for the Community Advantage program include:

• Increasing access to credit for small businesses located in underserved areas;
• Expanding points of access to the SBA 7(a) loan program by allowing participation of non-traditional, mission-oriented lenders; and
• Providing Management and Technical Assistance (M&TA) to small businesses, as needed.

To learn more about Community Advantage and additional small business financial assistance programs, visit your local SBA office at www.sba.gov

VP pool report #2 -- event begins

Muzak versions of "Stairway to Heaven" and "Three Times a Lady" played as attendees gathered inside beautiful Cramton Auditorium for the VP event this morning at Howard University. It began at 10:39.

Most of the 100 or so attendees are on the auditorium stage, with speakers using a lectern at the back.

The event is not being livestreamed. I'll send a few quotes as I'm able to get them, and the VP's office will send Harris's full remarks a little later.

A bit more background: You can find a press release and website for the initiative they are speaking about this morning here:

• Press Release
• Website

VP pool report #3 -- limited quotes

This will be my final report as pooler today. It has been an honor.

Order of remarks:
- Dr. Wayne Frederick, President, Howard University
- Peter Scher, Founder & Chairman, Greater Washington Partnership
- Francesca Ioffreda, Vice President for Inclusive Growth & Talent Initiatives, Greater Washington Partnership
Administrator Isabella Guzman, U.S. Small Business Administration
- Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Department of Commerce
- Ellis Carr, President & CEO, Capitol Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance
- Vice President Kamala Harris

Limited quotes below from the headline speakers:

Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Guzman:

Guzman thanked Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, who chairs the small business committee and is in attendance.
"We have to invest in underserved communities to ensure that all great ideas from everywhere and anywhere have a chance to become thriving businesses. The SBA is working to do that by meeting entrepreneurs where they are."

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo:
"I can't think of anything more important than what we're doing here today."
"Homogeneity is the enemy of innovation. If you have people all of the same background, same ideas, same viewpoints you won't innovate."

"If we're really going to unlock the full potential of our economy then we have to be committed to equity."

"But I'm sorry to say, we're not doing a great job... the typical white family has eight times the wealth of the typical black family. That's not equity."

"We are closing the digital divide. It's amazing how many people don't have access to high-speed broadband . 30% of people in rural america, 50% of people on tribal lands don't have broadband. We're going to fix that." (She promises to correct this issue so that all Americans have broadband.)

"I am completely excited to lean into this initiative and to make it the success that we all need it to be."

Vice President Kamala Harris:
Harris said she remembers being in this room for Freshman orientation, and talks of her homecoming to Howard today.
"This is an institution that, since its founding, has worked to advance, as we are doing today, inclusion, growth and equity in our country."
"I believe America as a nation is driven by the ambition and aspirations of her people. Our economy is therefore driven by the ambition and aspiration of our small businesses."
"Black entrepreneurs are three times more likely to report they did not apply for credit for fear of being turned away by a blank."
"Community lenders can often see the potential that others might overlook."
"SInce I took office, I have consulted with some of the most active community lenders in our nation, and I see the tremendous difference that these institutions are making."
"Our administration is working to expand the reach of community lenders."
"We are updating program rules to allow those people who are borrowing to restructure their debt if they fall behind on payments."
"The bottom line of this: when small business owners have the support they need, they create jobs."
"The role modeling you are doing will benefit people around the country. IT is truly a model, and it is a model that can an d should be replicated across our nation."

VP pool report 1

Good afternoon from the White House.

Pool is gathering ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris' meeting with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness. We'll be in the VP's ceremonial office in the EEOB.

Today's meeting marks the 60th anniversary year of the US and Jamaica establishing diplomatic ties.

Feel free to reach out directly with any questions:

VP pool report 2

VP and PM came in at 5.13 following their earlier bilateral meeting.

VP remarked that this is the first White House visit by a Jamaican PM since 1995.

"I'm very excited about your presence here today" VP tells PM Holeness.

She called it a point of "personal privilege" as someone of Jamaican descent, saying she grew up going to Jamaica.

Re-sending this earlier background from a White House official:

On Background from a White House Official

Vice President Kamala Harris is looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica to the White House on March 30 for a bilateral meeting. This year is the 60th anniversary of U.S. and Jamaica establishing diplomatic ties, and this visit will underscore the importance of the U.S.-Jamaica partnership to the Biden-Harris Administration as well as our work with the Caribbean region more broadly as we take on regional and global challenges together. The Vice President and Prime Minister will discuss a range of issues include: ending the COVID-19 pandemic, economic growth and recovery, and climate and energy security, among other issues. The U.S.-Jamaica partnership is based on deep economic and people-to-people ties and shared interests in our Hemisphere. The Vice President is looking forward to strengthening this partnership during this visit and in the months and years ahead.

VP Pool report 3

Standing before US and Jamaican flags, VP announced three initiatives she discussed with the Prime Minister during their roughly one-hour bilateral meeting.

They included:
- An announcement that the United States will be investing $20 million to assist in the strengthening and the expansion of Jamaica's commerce
- The US "will assist Jamaica in Covid recovery", on top of the $12 million in Covid assistance and more than 600,000 vaccinations the US has donated since the start of the pandemic
- In regards to regional security and crime prevention, the US has committed to provide $10 million to target at-risk youth in Jamaica through a number of initiatives.

VP said the conversation also spanned issues of "global significance". Ms Harris thanked PM Holeness for the leadership he has offered "in the context of votes that have been taken in the United Nations and in terms of Jamaica's strong stance in joining the United Nations and the United States in condemning Russia's aggression in Ukraine".

VP said the pair also discussed the impact of the climate crisis on island nations and in particular on Jamaica.

VP pool report 4

PM Holeness thanked VP for "the very warm reception" he has received.

The PM thanked the PM for the announcements with regard to commerce, Covid-19 recovery, human capital development, and also for the commitment for further strategic dialogue as to how Jamaica and the region as a whole can be supported, "particularly in transitioning our democracies into prosperous economies".

Turning to a smiling Ms Harris, PM says: "Madam Vice President, let me say that you have been a source of inspiration and great triumph" for many Caribbean people, in particular young women in the region. The PM said there has been an "increase in the political participation of young women".

"I want to congratulate you on your leadership and your accomplishments," he told the VP.

The PM notes that the US was one of the first countries to recognise an independent Jamaica 60 years ago. "And we're very proud of our continued strong relationship," he said.

VP pool report 5

Final pool report.

PM Holness concluded by thanking the VP for her time today and welcomed her announcements in support of Jamaica.

"Our strong and deep relationship with the United States is built on our shared democratic values and principles. It is an enduring relationship."

Ms Harris and PM Holness stood in the corner of the Vice President's ceremonial office by a log fireplace and large mirror.

The long table behind the pool had name cards and water bottles from an earlier meeting.

The pair left together and pool was ushered out at 5.26. VP did not respond to a shouted question about whether Russia was negotiating with Ukraine in good faith.

Full audio here: https://otter.ai/u/wJb0gPRkwNtQcVHNakeHACqdYZQ