Vice Presidential Pool Reports of March 8, 2024

VP Harris travel pool report #1

Buenas tardes from your print pooler today!

Health & Human Services Secretary Javier Becerra and Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) are traveling with her today. They greeted her as she boarded the plane.

She arrived at Joint Base Andrews at ~12:12 p.m.

Wheels up: 12:32 p.m. DC time
Wheels down: ~3:06 p.m. Phoenix time

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego greeted her as she stepped off the plane in Phoenix.

More background on today's trip:

Following President Biden's State of the Union address, Vice President Kamala Harris will once again hit the road to communities throughout America. This travel follows the Vice President's more than 20 trips to 12 states since the beginning of 2024.

On Friday, March 8, Vice President Harris will travel to Phoenix, AZ, the 13th state she has visited this year. This will be her fourth trip to the state since being sworn in.

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On Background From a White House Official:
Following President Biden's State of the Union address, Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling to Phoenix, AZ today to continue her nationwide "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" tour. During the fifth stop of her tour, the Vice President will highlight how extremists in states across the country have proposed and enacted abortion bans that threaten women's health, force them to travel out of state to receive care, and criminalize doctors. She will also discuss how women throughout Arizona have experienced chaos and confusion since Roe v. Wade was overturned, and outline how the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to protect reproductive freedoms. Her 4:15 p.m. AT/6:15 p.m. ET remarks will be livestreamed at WhiteHouse.Gov/Live [whitehouse.gov]

The Vice President's trip kicks off her post-SOTU travel swing to four states in five days. Arizona is the 13th state that she has traveled to in 2024, and this trip is her third visit to the state since being sworn in. Vice President Harris will be joined by medical providers, patients, reproductive rights advocates, and state and local leaders. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Health Dr.Shereef Elnahal, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and U.S. Representative Greg Stanton will also participate.

Reproductive rights in Arizona:
Republicans in Arizona enacted an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. The law also criminalizes medical providers. It passed the State House and State Senate along party lines and was signed by Republican Governor Doug Ducey.

Extremists in the state have also fought to enforce a total abortion ban from 1864 that punishes providers with prison time. In the confusion afterDobbs, abortion access decreased and abortions were halted in September of 2022 after a trial court held that the 1864 ban was enforceable. Some limited care was able to resume in October after the state court of appeals reversed the trial court decision. This extreme 1864 ban is currently pending before the Arizona Supreme Court, which is comprised of justices who were all appointed by Republicans. They heard arguments in December.

Additionally, Arizonans remain under threat by extremists who are proposing a national abortion ban and continuing to push for nationwide restrictions on medication abortion.

Background on the "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" Tour:
The Vice President's nationwide tour [whitehouse.us19.list-manage.com] kicked off [whitehouse.us19.list-manage.com] with a speech in Waukesha County, WI on Jan. 22 – 51 years to the day that Roe v. Wade was decided. The tour continued with a moderated conversation [whitehouse.us19.list-manage.com] in San Jose, CA, a speech [whitehouse.gov] in Savannah, GA, and a roundtable discussion [whitehouse.gov] in Grand Rapids, MI. She is visiting states that are experiencing chaos and confusion after Roe v. Wade was overturned, states where women's reproductive freedom is being protected, and states with extreme abortion bans that are threatening the lives, health, and wellbeing of women.

During each stop on her tour, Vice President Harris is holding extremists accountable for proposing a national abortion ban, highlighting the harm caused by extreme abortion bans, calling on Congress to restore the protections of Roe, outlining steps the Administration is taking to protect reproductive rights, and urging attendees to continue using their voices and stay engaged in the fight for fundamental freedoms.

This tour is a continuation of the Vice President's consistent leadership in the fight for reproductive rights. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, she has held more than 70 convenings[whitehouse.us19.list-manage.com] in 20 states while bringing together hundreds of elected officials, health care providers, faith leaders, students, and advocates who are on the frontlines of the fight for reproductive freedom. Last year, Vice President Harris also embarked on a "Fight for Our Freedoms" college tour in which she traveled to eight states, mobilized more than 15,000 students, and took questions directly from young leaders on a range of issues including reproductive freedom.

Background on the Vice President's leadership on reproductive rights:

• She has convened 250+ state legislators from 28 states [whitehouse.gov] since the Dobbs decision
• As part of the Administration's Task Force on Reproductive Health Care Access, she brought together [whitehouse.gov] Cabinet Secretaries across the government to implement the government's response to the Dobbs decision
• Share traveled to Tallahassee, Florida to mark [youtube.com]the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in January 2023
• She traveled [youtube.com] to North Carolina and Texas tomark [youtube.com] one-year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade
• She also traveled to Iowa to hold two conversations [whitehouse.gov] about the state's extreme abortion ban
• On the anniversary of Roe in January 2023, the Vice President also elevated [x.com] patients and providers' stories to spread the word about the harmful impact of these extreme bans
• In June, the Vice President sat down [twitter.com] with an OB-GYN in Missouri to discuss the impact of abortion restrictions
• In November 2023, the Vice President met [x.com]with an abortion rights advocate in Texas as she continues to uplift the young leaders who are on the frontlines of this fight

Background on the Vice President's longstanding leadership on fighting to protect women and girls:

• Vice President Harris has led on issues related to protecting the wellbeing of women and girls since before she was elected as District Attorney of San Francisco. Prior to becoming DA, she specialized in prosecuting crimes against women and children and later, as chief of the Division on Children and Families at the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, she continued prosecuting cases against domestic violence perpetrators, child abusers, and sex traffickers.
• As District Attorney, she sponsored a bill putting the crime of human trafficking into the state criminal code.
• As Attorney General, she continued to lead on efforts to combat human trafficking, reduce sexual violence, and seek justice for sexual assault victims. In her first year in office, she eliminated a longstanding backlog of untested rape kits in state-run labs.

Background on the Vice President's leadership on improving maternal health:

• Three years ago, she issued [whitehouse.gov] a call to action [twitter.com] that urged states to expand Medicaid postpartum coverage from two months to 12. 44 states have done so, providing [twitter.com] care to millions of new moms at a moment when more than half of pregnancy-related deaths occur between one week and one year postpartum.
• In 2022, the Vice President built on this work by launching [whitehouse.gov] the White House Blueprint [whitehouse.gov] for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, a whole-of-government strategy containing 50 actions that over a dozen agencies are undertaking to help improve maternal care. Last month, the Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President and Domestic Policy Council Director also convened [whitehouse.gov] private sector leaders at the White House to discuss innovations that will improve maternal health and birth outcomes for pregnant women, postpartum women, and their infants.
• Since taking office, Vice President Harris has regularly traveled the nation and to raise awareness [bravotv.com] about this crisis while forging [spectrumnews1.com] public-private partnerships to address it.
• She has also used [youtube.com] her digital platforms [twitter.com] to highlight this important issue.

VP Harris travel pool report #2

3:17 p.m. Harris on the move, heading to South Mountain Community Center, where she will be speaking.

On the way from the airport to the community center, a couple dozen protestors were lined up on a street corner yelling "Genocide Joe" and holding a sign that read "Save Gaza" a few blocks from where Harris will speak.

At the community center, the backdrop for the stage is the American flag, Arizona flag and sign in the center that reads: "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms," referring to the tour the VP has been doing in states across the country.

Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Health Dr.Shereef Elnahal started off the remarks to the crowd of a few hundred attendees.

How your pooler is staying entertained between remarks: Keeping tabs on the music on the playlist today. Songs so far include: Baila Baila Baila by Ozuna, Chan Chan by Buena Vista Social Club, COZY by Beyoncé & several other hits from Beyoncé's RENAISSANCE.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, in her remarks, reminds the crowd that today is international woman's day — and describes the vice president as "the most powerful woman on the planet."

Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Gallego's predecessor as mayor, asked attendees as a birthday gift to each get 25 of their friends to sign up to vote. The crowd then sang him happy birthday.

Stanton gave a shoutout to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, saying he is doing "everything in his power to protect and expand Americans' access to quality health care" and Harris for "taking the fight for reproductive justice to communities where it is most endangered."

"We won't stop. We can't stop fighting. The fight goes on," Stanton said.

4:18 p.m. — Harris expected to take the stage shortly. More to come!

VP Harris travel pool report #3

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, in remarks to introduce Harris, makes mention of Biden's performance at the State of the Union last night: "We will fight because we know you will fight. By the way, was President Biden in a fighting mood last night." He was met with loud applause.

Angela Florez, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona, introduced the VP to the stage.

Several attendees began chanting: "Four more years" as Harris took the stage. "We will get four more years, won't we?" Harris said smiling.

Harris tackled the issue of IVF, slamming "extremists" who want to deny women and couples the opportunity to start a family.

One protestor began yelling in the crowd, interrupting Harris. It was inaudible in the press area as several attendees started chanting "MVP" over the person. The protestor was quickly removed.

"These extremists they're trying to take women back to the 1800s but we're not gonna let them."

"The former president Donald Trump handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court because he intended for them to overturn Roe. He intended for them to take your freedoms… How dare he?

So let us understand: the former president is the architect of this health care crisis."

"Here is the bottom line… to truly protect reproductive freedoms, we must restore the protections of Roe. What the Supreme Court took, Congress can put back in place."

"When Congress passes a law that restores reproductive freedoms… Joe Biden will sign it into law." She reminds the crowd that it's not a partisan issue as a majority of Americans support reproductive rights.

"Arizona, are you ready to make your voices heard? Do we trust women? Do we believe in reproductive freedom? Do we believe in the promise of America?

When we fight, we win," Harris closed out her speech with a loud applause and Freedom by Beyoncé blasting. Harris spoke for about 15 minutes in total. And if you were keeping tabs, the song playing while she was taking pictures and shaking hands in the crowd was Vivir Mi Vida by Marc Anthony.