Press Release - In Wide-Ranging National T.V. Interview, Vice President Touts Accomplishments of the Biden-Harris Administration at Home and Abroad
"We are delivering for the American people:" In Wide-Ranging National T.V. Interview, Vice President Touts Accomplishments of the Biden-Harris Administration at Home and Abroad
During a sit-down interview with CBS' Margaret Brennan in Indonesia, Vice President Harris addressed key issues including reproductive freedom, Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine, the Biden-Harris Administration's approach to China, strengthening our alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, and how she and President Biden have improved the lives of the American people.
WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with CBS' Margaret Brennan in Jakarta, Indonesia for a wide-ranging, one-on-one interview that aired across the country this morning. The Vice President highlighted how the Biden-Harris administration has delivered for people throughout America, addressed a range of domestic policy issues such as attacks on reproductive freedom, and discussed her leadership on the global stage including on China, North Korea, and Russia.
The Face the Nation interview occurred as Vice President Harris represented the United States at the annual U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the East Asia Summit. This was her third trip to Southeast Asia since taking office, and offered opportunities to strengthen America's cooperation with key allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific. While in Jakarta, she engaged with leaders of Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries.
In case you missed it, here are five key moments from the Vice President's national interview that aired today on CBS' Face the Nation:
1. Vice President Harris outlined how she and President Biden have delivered for the American people. "We have created over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs in America, 13 million new jobs, unemployment at record lows. We have capped the cost of insulin for seniors at $35 a month, capped the cost of prescription drugs on an annual basis at $2,000," said Vice President Harris. "Under Joe Biden's leadership, we have transformed and are in the process of transforming America's infrastructure with an historic investment in, not only roads and bridges, but high-speed internet, what we are doing around issues like lead pipes."
2. Vice President Harris continued to lead the fight for reproductive freedom while also calling out extremists for their proposal to pass a nationwide abortion ban. "Members of the Republican Party are also proposing a national ban," said Vice President Harris. "I believe that we should put the protections of Roe v. Wade into law, and the way that will happen is if we have a United States Congress, who regardless of their personal view for themselves or their family, would agree that the women of America should be trusted to make decisions about their life and their body based on what they know to be in their best interest."
3. Vice President Harris discussed China and her ongoing work alongside key allies and partners to uphold international rules and norms. "I think the issue that is most present here among the Southeast Asian leaders is that there be a respect for and enforcement of international rules and norms. But they hope that there will be an avoidance of conflict, and that- there's a great symmetry between that and our policy toward China. We do not invite conflict, but we absolutely are prepared to and engaged in what is necessary to compete," said Vice President Harris. "It is about ensuring that we are protecting American interests, and that we are a leader in terms of the rules of the road, as opposed to following others' rules."
Vice President Harris also continued her leadership on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. "There's no question that we are very concerned about the Chinese government's actions on the South China Sea and how that is impacting the security and the future prosperity of the nations that are affected," she said. "For example, I was recently in the Philippines and I've been spending a lot of time with President Marcos; what is happening in terms of unprovoked actions against the Philippine interests in the South China Sea is significant and we have been very clear that we stand with the Philippines."
4. Vice President Harris addressed Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine, and spoke about reports that North Korea could provide significant military support to Vladimir Putin. "I think it would be a huge mistake. First of all, when you look at Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine, and the idea that they would supply ammunition to Russia, well, it's predictable where that ends up. I also believe very strongly that for both Russia and North Korea, this will further isolate them," said Vice President Harris. "It is very clear that Russia [is] very desperate; they have already experienced a strategic failure. So clearly, this is an act of desperation on the part of Russia, but it would be a huge mistake for North Korea to do this."
5. Vice President Harris highlighted how she has built public-private partnerships to help address the root causes of migration while also calling on Congress to pass immigration reform. "The work that I've been doing in that regard has been to build public-private partnerships to the extent that we have now raised over $4 billion to invest in the countries in that region," said Vice President Harris. "Focusing on root causes, and doing the work that we have been doing to bring U.S. investment into those countries, in a way that is supportive of their economies and supportive of fighting corruption, actually works."
Kamala Harris, Press Release - In Wide-Ranging National T.V. Interview, Vice President Touts Accomplishments of the Biden-Harris Administration at Home and Abroad Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/364879