Vice Presidential Pool Reports of September 29, 2021

VP pool report #1 — gathering for meeting with Latina small business owners

Happy Hump Day on a crisp fall afternoon at the White House. Pool is gathering ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris' meeting with Latina small business owners. See background below from WH staff.

The event is scheduled to start at 2:00pm in EEOB. As always, feel free to ping me directly with any questions.

On Background from a White House Official

Vice President Kamala Harris will host an in-person meeting in her White House Ceremonial Office today with five Latina small business leaders, to discuss the important role that small business leaders play in the Latino community and in our economy as a whole. The Vice President will hear how these leaders have managed their businesses during the pandemic, and she will make the case why the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the Build Back Better Agenda will strengthen small businesses and help entrepreneurs grow their companies.

Congresswoman Nanette Barragán will also participate. This meeting comes during a celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Participants include Daniella Senior, a restaurateur and the Founder of Colada Shop and Serenata & Zumo – which have locations in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia; Rosa Caldas, President and CEO of ZemiTek – an IT services and consulting firm based in Maryland; Paola Moya, the Founder of Moya Design Partners – an architecture firm in Washington, D.C.; Myrna Peralta, President and CEO of CentroNia, a multicultural learning center in Washington, D.C.; and Maria Hicks, Founder of Meridien Group – a construction services firm in Washington, D.C.

--The Vice President's leadership on small businesses and women in the workforce --

• Throughout her career, the Vice President has fought to strengthen small businesses and help entrepreneurs grow their companies. Her very first public event as Vice President was with small business owners two days after taking office – and since then she has met with small business owners across the country.
  • As a Senator, she led on securing $12 billion for community lenders in the December 2020 COVID/Omnibus bill – to support the smallest of small businesses, those most impacted by the pandemic. As Vice President, she has worked with Secretary Yellen, White House officials, leaders, and others to ensure successful implementation of the program.
  • The Vice President has worked to strengthen and extend the PPP program – so that small businesses can weather the pandemic and emerge stronger, and she worked closely with President Biden and Members of Congress to ensure small businesses received $60b in support from the American Rescue Plan.

• She has also fought to ensure the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal creates the conditions for small business to thrive, through better roads and bridges, better transit, and affordable, high-speed internet. And the Vice President has advocated for the Build Back Better Agenda which will lower the cost of childcare for working parents – a game changer for small business owners, especially those run by women.

• The Vice President has helped lead the effort on the challenges facing women in the workforce, including those who lead businesses.
  • Immediately after taking office, Vice President Harris called the mass exodus of women leaving the workforce a national emergency – elevating the crisis.
  • Last week the Vice President visited the home of Jamie Smith, a member of the "sandwich generation," who cares for her children and parents – to discuss how Build Back Better will support caregivers like Jamie.
  • The Vice President made her first trip to the Treasury Department since taking office to hold an event with Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and made the case for proposed investments in childcare and tax cuts like the Child Tax Credit and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit that will benefit women, children, and working families.
  • Recently, the Vice President convened business leaders to make the case for how childcare investments will help companies grow.
  • The Vice President has also convened leaders in Congress and women leaders of advocacy organizations, visited women-led small businesses across the country to hear how women have been impacted by the pandemic – including how they have been impacted by the child care system, visited child care centers to see firsthand the challenges that parents and workers face, traveled the country to raise awareness about the Child Tax Credit, and addressed international institutions on the issue of how to make the world work for women.

VP pool report #2 — meeting begins

Pool entered EEOB at 1:48pm and VP's ceremonial office at 1:50pm for preset. The seating arrangement was standard for these events: VP at the head of the table with the Congresswoman and business leaders seated around the horseshoe. Will include a photo in the next report

VP began speaking at 2:04pm and concluded at 2:10pm. Highlights below. Full quotes to follow.

Small businesses are "part of the backbone of our country, not just in terms of the economy"

"They are also a part of the fabric of the communities where they exist…"

The administration is focusing on how to "increase access to capital" with an emphasis on women and minority biz owners

"We will talk about the challenges that all working people face…"

"An example of that is our care economy," cites child care, aid family leave

"These leaders represent everything from" restaurants, child care center, IT consulting firm, construction group

"We are talking about every kind of business… all the things that are necessary" us to be a productive society… "and the solutions our administration is offering" like infrastructure and Build Back Better plans

VP touched on importance of access to internet for businesses and families, especially in Hispanic community

"I am looking forward to our conversation…"

VP pool report #3 — Full quotes

Full quotes from VP's opening remarks below.

Two notes... VP did not field questions before the meeting began, and VP's office passes along the following note regarding the bust of Justice Marshall, newly added to the ceremonial office:

On Background:
Howard University is loaning the Office of the Vice President the bust of Justice Thurgood Marshall, which is on display beginning today in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office. Vice President Harris has pointed to Justice Thurgood Marshall as an inspiration for her professional career as a lawyer. Justice Marshall's Bible was one of two Bibles she was sworn in on during the inauguration.
THE SCENE: https://twitter.com/TocRadio/status/1443277906407563270

OTTER: https://otter.ai/u/d-4Agt1KrUeOeA94n8LVm_HcIB0

VP: So today I have asked American business leaders to join me here to have a discussion about the economy in our country, and one of the most important foundations of our economy in this country are our small business, our small business leaders. They at this table and the many that they represent, really are part of the backbone of our country, not only in terms of our economy. It is also the case that our small business leaders, are civic leaders, they are community leaders. The businesses they lead not only employ people from communities, not only train, and support people within those communities, They are also part of the fabric of the culture in which they exist and reflective of the culture of the communities in which they do their work.

And so I asked these leaders who happen to all be women — and also on the occasion of our honoring every day, every day of the year, but in particular this month, Hispanic Heritage Month — to talk with me about the work they are doing but also the challenges that they face, and the work we can do together. Our administration cares deeply about the issue of what we can do to not only strengthen our economy, but to support small businesses.

One of the areas that I've been focused on a great deal of attention is what we can do to increase access to capital for our small businesses, with a particular emphasis on minority and women owned small businesses, who among our small businesses have historically faced the greatest challenges in terms of access to capital. So we will talk about that. We will talk about the challenge that all working people today, when it comes to a structure around them that supports their desire and their intention to work, which are the structures around them, designed in such a way to give them support to work, whether it be to own and run a small business or work in a small business. And it's natural that [inaudible] our care economy, and what we are doing in terms of child care, elder care. What do we need to do more in terms of having a system that says paid family is in the best interest of a business and a community and its workers. These are the kinds of issues that we will discuss.

But these leaders represent everything from smaller to larger small businesses. We have in this room the leaders of a restaurant group, a construction company, an architectural design firm, a 200 plus employee childcare center, an IT consulting firm and so much more. And we have [inaudible] when we are talking about Hispanic small businesses and business leaders, we are talking about every kind of business, again ranging again from architectural to IT, to all the things that require us to actually be productive as a society, and so I want to make a point of emphasizing that our focus on these businesses is about focus, across our economy, is the very discipline and the grinding that are necessary to have a productive society, and the solutions that our administration is offering are present in our philosophy of theory and policies, across a wide range, but in particular, with this week and in the coming weeks in our infrastructure, bipartisan infrastructure and the president's Build Back Better plan.

And so on the access to capital piece also was present in the American Rescue Plan, which included $30 billion worth of small businesses including $28 billion in the restaurant fund and $7 billion for PPP and a hundred million for programs to help small businesses navigate the system. In terms of our bipartisan infrastructure deal, that's helping folks save [inaudible] and understanding that investment in roads and transit and internet — and let's remember that especially when we're talking about demographically who has access to internet, we know that certain communities are disproportionately left out of that access, and the Hispanic community is one of them. And that means an impact not only in our children's ability to do their homework, but a business's ability to run. And then, on the issue of allowing or supporting our businesses to stay competitive, there is the Build Back Better plan, which is about lowering costs for things like child care, elder care, it is about cutting taxes for families with children through the child tax credit, and creating jobs and that's about workforce training and apprenticeships, which is about upskilling workers, and allowing them to meet their potential [inaudible]. So I am looking forward to our conversation. I welcome you. I want to particularly thank Congresswoman Barragan, for your long standing leadership in the United States Congress on these issues and so many more.

That's all from me folks. Enjoy the briefing and the end of the day!

VP Pool report en español #1 - Reunión de la vicepresidenta Harris con propietarias de pequeños negocios

El pool llegó a la oficina ceremonial de la vicepresidenta Harris a la 2:04 pm EST, y estuvo en la sala seis minutos.

La vicepresidenta Harris estaba sentada en una mesa alargada con cinco empresarias latinas, además de con la congresista Nanette Barragán, demócrata por California y miembro del Caucus Hispano del Congreso.
Enviaré citas destacadas de las declaraciones de la vicepresidenta en un segundo pool report.

La reunión tenía como objetivo "conversar sobre el importante papel que las líderes de pequeños negocios tienen en la comunidad latina y en la economía en general", según la Casa Blanca.
El encuentro se enmarca en la conmemoración del mes de la Herencia Hispana, que se celebra desde el 15 de septiembre y hasta el próximo 15 de octubre.

Estas son las participantes en la reunión, según la Casa Blanca:

Rosa Caldas, presidenta de la empresa de tecnología de la información y consultoría ZemiTek, con sede en Maryland.
Paola Moya, la fundadora del estudio de arquitectura Moya Design Partners.
Maria Hicks, la fundadora de la empresa de servicios de la construcción Meridien Group.
Myrna Yvette Peralta, presidenta de CentroNía, una institución que proporciona educación temprana bilingüe y a precios asequibles a familias de bajos ingresos en Washington DC.
Daniella Senior, fundadora del restaurante caribeño Colada Shop y el local Serenata & Zumo, situados en Washington DC, Maryland y Virginia.

VP Pool report en español #2 - Reunión de la vicepresidenta Harris con propietarias de pequeños negocios

Algunas declaraciones destacadas de la vicepresidenta Harris al inicio de su reunión con propietarias latinas de pequeños negocios:.

"Nuestras líderes de pequeños negocios en esta mesa, y los otros muchos a los que representan, son realmente la columna vertebral de nuestro país, no solo en cuanto a nuestra economía (...) sino que también son parte del tejido de la cultura y reflejan las comunidades en las que viven".
La vicepresidenta bromeó con que "da la casualidad" de que todas las asistentes a la reunión "son mujeres", y subrayó que este mes en particular, cuando se celebra la Herencia Hispana, quería hablar con ellas "sobre el trabajo que hacen" y "los desafíos" que enfrentan.
"Una de las áreas a las que he estado dedicando mucha atención es a lo que podemos hacer para aumentar el acceso al capital para nuestros pequeños negocios, con un énfasis particular en los pequeños negocios regentados por minorías y por mujeres, que han enfrentado retos históricamente".
También dijo que hablaría con las empresarias sobre si "las estructuras que las rodean están diseñadas de tal forma que les den apoyo para poder trabajar", y sobre la necesidad de promover más facilidades respecto al "cuidado infantil y de los ancianos".
"Cuando hablamos de pequeños negocios hispanos y sus líderes, hablamos de todo tipo de negocios, desde la arquitectura hasta la tecnología de la información, pasando por todas las cosas que requieren que actuemos como sociedad".
Además, dijo que los planes económicos de la Administración Biden-Harris supondrían mejoras para la comunidad hispana en áreas como un mejor acceso a Internet y un recorte del coste de los cuidados infantil y de familiares, así como mediante el crédito fiscal por tener hijos y el aumento de formación de los trabajadores.

El pool tuvo que salir de la sala antes de que las empresarias invitadas empezaran a hablar, por lo que solo escuchamos las declaraciones iniciales de la vicepresidenta.
La vicepresidenta tenía detrás de sí un busto del que fuera el primer juez del Supremo afroamericano, Thurgood Marshall, y la oficina de Harris confirmó que es un préstamo de la Universidad de Howard que la vicepresidenta ha querido situar en su oficina ceremonial porque ese magistrado fue una "inspiración para la carrera profesional como abogada".

Los nombres de las invitadas a la reunión están en el anterior pool report en español, y hay más contexto sobre el encuentro, proporcionado por la Casa Blanca, en el VP pool report #1 en inglés.