Vice Presidential Pool Reports of December 9, 2024

Supplemental VP Pool #1 - Tribal Nations Summit background

Good morning,

Scripps News is your supplemental print pool for Vice President Kamala Harris’ remarks to the Tribal Nations Summit this afternoon.

Your pooler is currently holding in the Sidney R. Yates Auditorium at the Department of the Interior. VP Harris is slated to speak at 1:20pm, per her office. President Biden’s remarks here later this afternoon will be covered by the in-town White House travel pool.

See below for background on the VP’s remarks from her office:

From a WH official:

This afternoon at 1:20 PM ET, Vice President Harris will deliver remarks at the White House Tribal Nations Summit. The Vice President will acknowledge the federal government’s long history of under-investing in Native communities and highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment and actions to create enduring opportunity in every Native community, including by investing in small businesses, improving access to health care and investing in climate resilience. The Vice President’s remarks will be livestreamed at www.whitehouse.gov/live [whitehouse.gov].

This morning, the Biden-Harris Administration announced [whitehouse.gov] new actions and historic progress supporting Tribal Nations and Native Communities. This includes its plan to establish a new national monument at the site of the former Carlisle Federal Indian Industrial School and announce a new strategy to preserve and revitalize Native languages.

Alongside President Biden, Vice President Harris has led the Administration’s efforts to create opportunity and to promote equity in Tribal communities:

· In October 2024, the Vice President issued a statement [nativenewsonline.net] supporting the President’s apology to Native communities for the suffering of Native children that were forced to attend Indian boarding schools. The Vice President emphasized that all Americans have a right to learn our nation’s full history to ensure we will be a better nation for each generation to come.

· In July 2023, the Vice President visited [whitehouse.gov] the Gila River Indian Community, marking the first time a sitting President or Vice President visited the community.

· In November 2022, the Vice President delivered [whitehouse.gov] remarks at the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit where she highlighted the Administration’s work in partnership with Tribal leaders to improve maternal health, increase access to capital, fight the climate crisis, and protect the Indian Child Welfare Act.

· As a U.S. Senator, the Vice President fought for legislation, including the Climate Equity Act, the Water Justice Act and the Environmental Justice for All Act, to promote equity and opportunity in Native communities.

· As California’s Attorney General, the Vice President worked to protect Native children, including establishing the Bureau of Children’s Justice and launching a task force to investigate local government for violating Native children’s rights by failing to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act. She was also the first attorney general to provide a tribal police department full access to a state-run criminal history database.

Supplemental VP Pool #2 - VP Harris Tribal Nations Summit remarks

Vice President Harris took the stage at 1:34pm, following an introduction by Sophia Madrigal, a California Native Youth Gen-I Ambassador. White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden and Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Tom Perez spoke earlier in the program.

VP Harris began her remarks by thanking Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the other tribal leaders in attendance. "The bonds between our nations are sacred," Harris said, "and the federal government has a duty to safeguard and strengthen those bonds."

"For far too long, the federal government has underinvested in Native communities, underinvested in Native entrepreneurs and small businesses, and underinvested in Native hospitals, schools and infrastructure," Harris continued.

The Vice President went on to tout efforts by the Biden administration to invest in tribal communities' access to banking infrastructure and improve inequities in healthcare. She spoke to the concerns from some tribal leaders about a lack of funding for the Indian Health Service, especially during government shutdowns. "For the first time ever, we made it so that IHS will now continue to receive funding even if the federal government shuts down," Harris said to applause. "No matter what happens, people will continue to get the care that they need and deserve."

Speaking to issues of maternal mortality, Harris highlighted how she "challenged" states to expand the length of time Medicaid provides postpartum maternal healthcare, boasting that the number of states covering such services beyond two months has grown from three to 46.

Harris closed by noting that she met with a group of "extraordinary" young Native leaders shortly before her remarks, complimenting their "purpose," "determination" and "ambition."

The Vice President concluded at 1:51, after speaking for approximately 17 minutes. Her remarks were streamed by the White House here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ci-titBAO8

Supplemental VP Pool #3 - Harris to Capitol to swear in new Sens

On-passing from the VP's office - note that the pool was not brought along for this event.

From a WH official:

This afternoon, Vice President Harris will be at the U.S. Capitol to swear-in Senators-designate Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Senator-elect Pete Ricketts (R-NE). While at the Capitol and in her role as President of the Senate, the Vice President will sign the Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act, which will instruct Congress to posthumously bestow the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm with a Congressional Gold Medal.