HUNTINGTON / CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – As we navigate the 10th month of the COVID-19 pandemic, the weight on the shoulders of American families is insurmountable.
On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke exclusively with WSAZ’s Amanda Barren. We had a chance to ask him if help would come and when.
“According to your point in West Virginia, one in seven families describes their home as hungry, one in six can’t pay the rent, and one in four small businesses close permanently or have already closed, so it’s a big problem in West Virginia and across the country, ”Harris said. “And that’s why the president and I offer the American Rescue Plan.”
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) would introduce cash into American bank accounts. It has the framework to help small businesses, money for return to education and extend the moratorium on eviction and foreclosure.
It also has provisions for prolonged unemployment.
As the vice president defends the ARPs, many people in our region feel they are defending their jobs in the coal, oil and gas industries. This is due to executive orders signed by President Biden related to the energy industry that endanger traditional energy jobs.
We asked Harris about the recycling plans for these workers, something people have heard before with little follow-up.
“All those skilled workers who work in the coal industry and who transfer these skills to what we need to do in terms of recovering abandoned landmines; what we need to do to cover oil and gas well leaks; and, transferring those important skills to the work that still needs to be done, ”the vice president said.
Harris says the country needs to act with a sense of urgency. That is why he continues to defend the approval of the ARP. That’s because legislation has been introduced by House Republicans, including West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore-Capito, who on Thursday introduced the “Protecting Our Wealth of Energy Resources (POWER) Act 2021”. The POWER Act would prohibit the president or his secretaries from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from blocking the lease energy or minerals and allow them to federal lands. waters without the approval of Congress. Capito says the president’s order kills American jobs and attacks the oil and gas industries.
“Because I should [oil, gas, and coal workers] do you think this time will be different? “Barren asked.
“The president has made it very clear that these are not existing leases in terms of coal and what we are doing in terms of oil and coal and federal land. This is what we need to do in the future to create more jobs. said Harris. “The president feels very strongly that when we think about saving our environment (…) When you talk to him about climate change, the first thing he talks about is job creation.”
The ARP includes benefits such as $ 1,400 stimulus control for each person in the household and, among other things, would set up a national vaccination program.
“[ARP is] about opening backups securely, it’s about getting support for small businesses and helping families. There are so many people who have been unemployed for almost a year right now, “the vice president told WSAZ.” The president and I feel very strongly that these are the times when we are facing a crisis of a incredible proportion [and] that the American people deserve their leaders to stand up and defend them ”.
West Virginia has been at the forefront of the nation when it comes to getting gunshots. However, President Biden said earlier this week the distribution of vaccines would be based on the population of a state. West Virginia is a small state and has one of the oldest and most vulnerable populations.
Barren asked the vice president if it was fair to base distribution on a state’s population, especially when small states like West Virginia are efficiently vaccinating people.
“Our plan is to vaccinate everyone … Our plan was, and still is, that during the first 100 days of our administration, 100 million vaccines will be given. That’s why we have the ‘American Rescue Plan,’ because we have more than 320 million people in our country, ”the vice president told Barren. “It’s also about looking at child poverty rates in our country that have stood out and grown exponentially due to the fact that their parents are now unemployed. [ARP] it’s also about getting children out of poverty. “
With spectators in our region overwhelmingly supporting the previous administration, Thursday was also an opportunity for the vice president to reach out to components who had different ideological values. “Why should they trust you and the president?” Barren asked the vice president.
“Because we have faith in the American people,” the vice president told Barren. “We ran as Democrats, but we are Americans and we will lead as Americans. We want our country to be strong, our country to be healthy, our children to prosper and that is the end result. That’s why we do it. We are here to support you and the reason I am here in West Virginia talking to you is because everyone cares if you voted for us or not. The election is over and now is the time to support the American people; drive, lift people up and say, “Hello, neighbor!” We are all there together. We are all together. “
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