Takes first official journey to encourage Americans, especially people of color, to get Covid shots.
As Indian American Vice President Kamala Harris embarked on a cross country swing to sell the $1.9 trillion Covid relief package, she touted it as more of a public education campaign.
“We want to avoid a situation where people are unaware of what they’re entitled to,” she said at the culinary academy in Las Vegas on Monday on the first leg of the White House’s “Help is here” roadshow.
“It’s not selling it; it literally is letting people know their rights. Think of it more as a public education campaign,” said Harris.
“We have a duty to help each other out, especially in times of need,” she said. “It is our responsibility when people are suffering. And you do it understanding the dignity of each person and your fellow human being.”
READ: Black and Brown people hit hardest by Covid-19: Kamala Harris (February 12, 2021)
Earlier, visiting a mass vaccination site in Las Vegas, she told the health workers, “You all are the heroes of this moment. You guys are saving lives.”
The trip Monday marked Harris’ first official journey in office and included an unscheduled stop at a vegan taco stand as well as a coffee stand at the Culinary Academy.
As part of the roadshow to showcase President Joe Biden’s massive stimulus package, first lady Jill Biden toured a New Jersey elementary school. Biden himself heads out to Pennsylvania on Tuesday and then join Harris in Georgia on Friday.
Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, joined his wife for the Western trip, visiting a food relief organization Monday in Las Vegas and participating in a listening session with the organization’s partners. He will also visit Albuquerque, New Mexico, in his first solo trip as second gentleman.
After Nevada, Harris will visit Colorado, both important presidential election states where Democratic senators are defending seats in next year’s midterms.
On Tuesday, Harris is scheduled to visit a vaccination clinic in Denver and meet with small business owners to discuss aid that will flow to them under the stimulus law.
“With this week’s trip, Harris is developing a role as a key promoter for the stimulus, the first major legislation Biden signed into law,” Bloomberg said.
Much of Harris’s focus has been on how the rescue package could help small businesses and women in the workforce, it said citing a White House official.
Harris sees the trip as a chance to encourage Americans to get a Covid-19 vaccine, the official said, especially people of color who are more likely to be hesitant.
Americans will see what we did here. What you did, Mr. President,” Harris said during a Rose Garden ceremony last week celebrating the bill. “And they will feel the impact of this bill for generations.