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Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Bronx on Oct. 22.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, O BTR CT. 29-NOV. 4, 2021 15
VP Harris visits the Bronx,
promising to Build Back Better
BY DEAN MOSES
What does the Build Back
Better Agenda mean for New
York, the former epicenter of
the pandemic?
Vice President Kamala
Harris visited the Bronx on
Oct. 22 to speak about the
Build Back Better Agenda,
an ambitious plan that seeks
to create more jobs, cut taxes,
and lower costs for working
families.
New York City elected offi
cials like Mayor Bill de Blasio,
Gov. Kathy Hochul, and
Congresswoman Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez sat alongside
the borough’s locals inside the
Edenwald YMCA on Friday afternoon
to listen to a plan outlined
by the 49th Vice President
of the United States.
With the Bronx and Queens
having been some of the hardest
hit boroughs in New York
City since the onset of the COVID
19 pandemic—a virus
that exacerbated existing racial
and economic disparities
in addition to being a health
crisis—the vice president traveled
to New York on Friday afternoon
to address how those
who have felt the impact fi rsthand
will benefi t.
While the American Rescue
Plan was a fast-tracked objective
aimed to pull communities
in these areas out from
the darkness of food insecurity
and debt, the Build Back
Better Agenda seeks to extend
much of these policies, such
as the Child Tax Credit and
Earned-income Tax Credit.
Additionally, it is projected to
create clean energy jobs, invest
in teachers and schools,
and provide workforce training.
The funding for these initiatives
will be garnered from
fairer tax codes, which the
Biden-Harris administration
say would require the wealthiest
and largest corporations to
pay their fair share in taxes.
Before Harris emerged
on the stage at the YMCA to
a roar of applause, Hochul
opened the program by underscoring
the sheer signifi cance
of the visit.
“Over the last nine months.
This city more than any place
on the planet was so hard hit
by this pandemic. And then
think about not just the city,
but what happened in places
like the Bronx, because we
don’t need to tell anybody that
black and brown communities
are the hardest hit in terms of
number of cases, the number
of deaths, and our rate of vaccination
is not where we want
it to be. These are the communities
that have suffered the
most. And that’s why we’re so
honored to welcome the Vice
President of the United States
of America here, so she could
have a conversation about
what the Biden-Harris administration
has done before, and
what they’re going to do next,”
Hochul said.
After 19 months fi ghting
through the virus and economic
crisis, those impacted
are still struggling to fi nd security.
Hochul emphasized
that many have yet to gain a
sense of normalcy since some
still do not have access to jobs,
nor childcare. She called the
American Rescue plan a lifeline
when businesses were
drowning in debt and families
fought to make ends meet.
The Vice President herself
echoed these sentiments, stating
that the Biden-Harris administration
will continue to
battle through the healthcare
crisis by pushing for the Build
Back Better Agenda to provide
relief for working families.
“President Joe Biden and
I see you, and we stand with
you,” Harris said, acknowledging
the working families
throughout the nation who
continue to struggle.
She explained the way in
which the Child Tax Credit
portion in the Build Back Better
Agenda is said to be the
single largest contributor of
the plan, cutting child poverty
nearly in half. Additionally,
the Earned-income Tax
Credit will also be expanded,
helping 17 million low-wage
workers.
“We know that the families
that have the least were being
harmed the most,” Harris
said, adding, “Working class
families, middle class families
who were struggling before
are barely holding it together
now.”
Over the past several
months, the Build Back Better
Agenda has been chopped
down from a $3.5 trillion bill
to about $1.75 trillion. Elected
offi cials like Ocasio-Cortez
are urging her constituents
to reach out to their representatives
and voice what they
would like to see cut and what
they want reinforced in the
agenda as Democrats sit at the
table making adjustments to
fi t the budget.
“We want to fi ght for
more because it’s very deeply
shameful how 60+ percent
of the entire country is in
agreement with these policies
and yet the infl uence of
dark money is preventing the
majority of the opinion from
happening,” Congresswoman
Ocasio-Cortez said, adding,
“We’ve got the work here in
the Bronx right now and it’s a
deeply impacted community.”
“If you think it is too little
and we should walk away, call
our offi ce and let us know,”
she stressed.
Mayor Bill de Blasio also
shared his thoughts on the
Build Back Better Agenda,
stating that it is the most progressive
investment in infrastructure
since the 1960s.
Despite continued cuts in the
bill, he believes the money
will still help build better
schools, roads, the subways
systems, and more.
“We are trying every
day to fi x schools, build new
schools, but we only have so
much money. This will revolutionize
everything that we do.
So, I think the numbers they
are talking about, they’re
gonna be felt,” de Blasio said.
“This is the most powerful infrastructure
package we’ve
seen in half a century, even if
it’s less than we hoped for. It
will make history.”
Although elected offi cials
lauded Harris’ visit, it was
not all smooth sailing, however.
She faced roadblocks
both inside and outside of the
YMCA. During her speech, a
man rose to his feet and began
heckling the vice president.
“What about the families
who drowned,” the man
shouted, referring to those
who lived in basement apartments
that were not regulated
and perished during the fl ooding
from Hurricane Ida, “The
agenda doesn’t protect people!”
Refusing to let up, members
of the secret service
wrestled the man from the
building, but outside was not
much better. Dozens of protesters
demanding that a path
to citizenship be included
in the plan waited outside
for Harris to leave as they
chanted “What do we want?
Citizenship.”
Outside of the YMCA protesters gathered, demanding a path to citizenship
be included in the agenda. Photos by Dean Moses
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