(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . VP Kamala Harris Roundup - "Stop with the gaslighting." [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-04-16 VP Kamala Harris’ first public event this week was her participation in a roundtable discussion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Mon. Apr. 8) announcing the Biden-Harris’ latest initiative to cancel student loan debt, hearing from a group of public service workers about the impact of the administration’s student loan debt relief on their lives. Already planning on visiting Tucson, Arizona (Fri. Apr. 12) to address the administration’s further path to cancel student loan debt, anticipating a ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court on whether to uphold its 160 year old law outlawing abortions, when it ruled in favor (Tues. Apr. 9), VP Harris directed her team to make the event focused on abortion. Monday (Apr. 8) was a full solar eclipse, and of course, VP Harris took time to celebrate the occasion with young students before making her way to the roundtable discussion: x Thank you, @VP @KamalaHarris, for taking the time to meet with and watch the solar eclipse alongside students from George W. Nebinger School and William Cramp School. Your presence made the experience truly special for them, and they thoroughly enjoyed sharing it with you! #PHLED pic.twitter.com/3pFhgQMGkc — Philadelphia Schools (@PHLschools) April 8, 2024 x My daughters will forever remember today’s solar eclipse, but only because of the warmth and kindness shown to them by @KamalaHarris @VP 🤍 pic.twitter.com/ZYWtdHwcwy — Jane Clements (@jclemsmith) April 9, 2024 Samples of remarks from participants in Vice President Kamala Harris’ roundtable discussion on student debt relief, held at Cramp Elementary School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Mon. Apr. 8.) Please watch the full video to see the life changing impact for these women who have been serving their communities for years at high personal costs.: x I joined public service workers in Philadelphia to hear how our Administration’s student loan forgiveness programs have changed their lives. President Biden and I have a new plan to forgive loans for millions more Americans, including teachers, nurses, social workers, and more. pic.twitter.com/LtITH4fgNY — Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 9, 2024 Tonya Cabeza (school-based teacher leader at Cramp Elementary School): I was doing what moms do in the kitchen: making dinner, checking emails. And I open up an email that said, “Congratulations, your loans have been forgiven.” It was 40,000-plus dollars in student loans just gone - zero. My life had changed, and what I was able to give to my children had changed. I am the first in may family to go to college. There wasn’t a time that I didn’t want to be a teacher. I needed to go to college and graduate in order to do this. I was 22 years old — graduated from college. I had to take out a loan for my entire amount of my undergrad. And then to continue teaching and get that permanent certification, I had to do more schooling, in which I had to take out more loans. But, despite that, I did press on. I get to come here every day and work with these students, and this is my work home. I love working here, and the loans gave me the opportunity to do that. But now that they’re forgiven, my eldest daughter is now in college — also going down the education path — I’m able to assist her in a way that my parents weren’t able to assist me. Beth Whelan (school nurse at Richmond Elementary School): I’m a school nurse at Richmond Elementary School in the Port Richmond section of the city. It’s an underserved community that I work in. I was hired under an emergency school nurse certification, so I needed to pursue further coursework in order to be able to continue practice. Unfortunately, I accrued a lot of student loan debt at this time, coupled with my undergrad debt that I still had, I was paying hundreds of dollars a month, barely making ends meet. I knew I could make more money if I returned to hospital nursing, but I really believed in the importance of school nursing, so I stuck with it. Recently, I lost my father. I remember a conversation that I had with him shortly before he died. He asked me if was okay financially, as he would help me from time to time. I had just gotten word that all of my $65,000 of student loan debt had been forgiven. And I told him that. I saw a lot of relief in his face, as I was not going to have that burden on me anymore. Kelli Gray (social work services manager at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services): My student debt story is like everybody else’s. I knew I wanted a better life for myself and my two wonderful twin daughters, one of whom, Monique, is here with me today. And I knew education was that path. So, I took a risk, and I took out debt. I got associate’s, a bachelor’s, a master’s, and I wanted a PhD. But, ultimately, I had to stop taking my PhD classes because I couldn’t afford any more debt. Giving direct care to children is beyond important to me. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I know that children need an advocate and someone who sees them, and I can recognize what they are going through when they don’t have a voice. My daughter graduated from Spelman. I had to ask help for a parent PLUS loan. My loans were $350,000. On February 23rd of this year, I took my work — my papers, because I take it to work to shred. I opened up my letter. I was going to shred it. It was from MOHELA. And it said, “Congratulations. Thank you for being in public service. Your loans have been forgiven.” x Listen up any of you who have student loan debt, even if you didn't finish your degree. Check out the link! https://t.co/pV2mLvsBfu — Linda Lee Peacock 💛🐝💛 (@LindaLeePeacock) April 14, 2024 After the roundtable discussion, VP Harris made a special appearance at the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee Dinner: x “What kind of country do we want to live in?” VP Harris asks, making a surprise stop tonight at a Phila. Dems dinner… says Trump is “epitome” of chaos who “has said he’d be a dictator on day one.” As President Biden says, “it’s a big… deal.” Crowd cheers “four more years!” pic.twitter.com/H9k3HIcTUY — Robert Costa (@costareports) April 8, 2024 x Man said “she’s the next president” sir we’re in agreement!! We claim it!! https://t.co/Uby0U7Uart — TemarSawy44 (@SawyerWilliemae) April 9, 2024 Here’s the full video of her speech, which is well worth watching. I just could not stand the preview picture from YouTube, featuring the fg — won’t post his face here. Tuesday (Apr. 9) “Madam Vice President”, VP Harris’ previously recorded podcast with Jen and Pumps of “I’ve Had It” was aired. It’s a great interview. Check it out: Also on Tuesday, VP Harris met with families of Americans taken hostage by Hamas: x Edan Alexander. Sagui Dekel-Chen. Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Omer Neutra. Keith Siegel. These are innocent Americans who were brutally taken hostage by Hamas 186 days ago. As I told their loved ones today: @POTUS and I are doing everything we can to reunite these hostages with their… pic.twitter.com/BYeYeHyfgv — Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 9, 2024 Wednesday (Apr. 10) Vice President Harris held a press call announcing new action by the Biden-Harris administration to implement Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and expanding firearm background checks and closing the “gun-show loophole”. This is the largest and most significant expansion of the background check requirement for gun purchases since the passage of the Brady Bill in 1993. Both Wednesday and Thursday, VP Harris participated in events honoring the State visit of Rime Minister Kishida of Japan (more in the comments). x As the head of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, I am proud to announce that all gun dealers must conduct background checks no matter where or how they sell. This will save lives and keep our communities safe. pic.twitter.com/5fe3TmUerR — Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 11, 2024 April 11-18 is Black Maternal Health Week and Vice President Harris did a telephone interview with Willie Moore, Jr. on his radio show, not only about Black Maternal Heath Week but a range of subjects including reproductive freedoms and student loan forgiveness. Here’s a good article from Essence Here's What The Biden Harris Administration Is Doing To Combat The Black Maternal Heath Crisis. x Vice President @KamalaHarris has been a leader on the issue of maternal mortality for years. She has led the charge to improve maternal health outcomes and continues to elevate the issue so all mothers can access the care they need. I’m proud to have her on my team. pic.twitter.com/ntYAYeBOiG — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 11, 2024 x As Black Maternal Health Week begins, I continue to call on every state to provide doula care through Medicaid. Doulas are a critical lifeline, and I am grateful to Venus for her work to train doulas and ensure every person can access care with dignity. pic.twitter.com/cDrZfVlcMh — Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 11, 2024 And for this week’s grand finale, Vice President Kamala Harris, in rapid response mode, held a campaign rally in Tucson Arizona (Friday, Apr.12), blasting the fg and the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate an 1864 abortion ban. She was on fire and her whole speech was packed full of punches. x “We all must understand who is to blame. Former President Donald Trump did this.” — Vice President Kamala Harris speaking in Arizona after the state Supreme Court reinstated a 160-year-old abortion ban pic.twitter.com/lYYo9L0FyD — The Recount (@therecount) April 12, 2024 x “Just like he did in Arizona, Trump basically wants to take America back to the 1800s but we are not going to let that happen because here's the deal, this is 2024, not the 1800s… we are not going back.” RT if you agree with @VP! WE AREN’T GOING BACK🔥 pic.twitter.com/caC1eNCNQO — Skyleigh Heinen-Uhrich (@Sky_Lee_1) April 12, 2024 x Enough with the gaslighting. We know Donald Trump will sign a national abortion ban into law if given the chance. pic.twitter.com/GsGfrNdOvu — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 13, 2024 Here’s the entire speech. Savor it!: VP Harris’s remarks start at 3:50 minutes. Reminder: VP Kamala Harris Roundup is a weekly series, published on Tuesdays at 8 AM ET. For daily updates, see my MVP Kamala Harris comments in the Abbreviated Pundit Roundup. VOTE and GOTV! “When we fight, we win!” — VP Kamala Harris [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/4/16/2235012/-VP-Kamala-Harris-Roundup-Stop-with-the-gaslighting?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/