Ever since President Joe Biden & Vice President Kamala Harris took office in January 2021, they’ve endured attacks about their fitness for the job. Vice President Harris has taken the brunt of these attacks. There’s been a coordinated effort these past two years to make it seem as if the first female vice president is invisible and inept at the scope of her job. It first surfaced on social media and conservative radio & TV airwaves. Now, it’s a talking point even echoed by Democrats and Biden supporters who are lobbying that VP Harris should be removed from the 2024 reelection ticket. It’s unfair how narratives become so powerful and take on a life of their own. These lies threaten to affect the discourse around the 2024 Presidential Race and even Vice President Harris’s political future as she remains a key contender for the Democratic Nomination for President in the future.
This week on HBCU Pulse Radio where I gave a State Of The Union about our HBCUs and their relationships with the federal and state government, I did a “Randall’s Thoughts” editorial about Vice President Kamala Harris. I asserted that she is one of the best, if not the best, Vice Presidents of all time and cited that she’s done her constitutional duties with excellence and often does even more to advance important causes for the Biden Administration that isn’t a part of her job description. As always, there’s so much more to speak on that we can’t possibly put in our 28-minute weekly SiriusXM Program so I wanted to lay out more accomplishments that Vice President Kamala Harris has achieved in her two-year tenure with the Biden Administration.
This article will be updated as VP Harris achieves more. I hope that this helps in counteracting the toxic narratives about her job performance and highlights how effective she is at governance and that she’s ready to be President on day one if we give her a fair opportunity. I also urge you to follow @whereiskamala as they routinely give updates about what Vice President Harris is doing amid the talking points that she is invisible.
As promised, here’s the first of many #VPHarrisMonthlyRecaps designed to defeat the false narrative that she is invisible.
Kudos to @LailaBChill for all the hard work she’s put into this great video. Give her a follow and a retweet. #MVPisSEEN pic.twitter.com/YHqp9F0r8I
— What VP Harris Is Doing (@WhereIsKamala) March 2, 2023
Vice President Kamala Harris’s Accomplishments Thus Far
- Two of the key responsibilities of the Vice President are to preside over the senate and break ties as needed in Senate voting. VP Harris has Broken 29 ties in the Senate (three in 2023), the most in modern history (only Vice Presidents John C. Calhoun & John Adams broke more). (Note: Presiding over the senate, breaking ties as needed in the senate and serving as President if the sitting president is removed or incapacitated are the only constitutional roles of the Vice President of the United States)
- Vice President Harris has been able to successfully confirm all the nominees that President Joe Biden has appointed, which is key to the administration being able to effectively do the work needed to advance their agenda.
- Vice President Harris serves as the Biden Administration’s main representative for diplomatic relations abroad. Vice President Harris is the first U.S. Official to visit Palawan, a providence of the Philippines.
- Vice President Harris has advocated for increased HBCU funding as an alumna of Howard University, pushing the Biden Administration to allocate billions of dollars in funding to HBCUs, continuing her support of HBCUs that she showed previously as a U.S. Senator.
- Vice President Harris was been instrumental in the passage of the American Rescue Plan, which included a $2 Trillion COVID relief stimulus bill, that had previously been stalled by Senate Republicans.
- Vice President Harris has been a champion of maternal health and has toured the country advocating for a woman’s right to choose amid the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in the Summer of 2022.
- Vice President Harris has been an effective leader in criminal justice reform and has championed the need for continued investment in early childhood education.
- Vice President Harris has been an outspoken advocate for women’s rights and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education.
- Vice President Harris is a strong advocate for the middle class and has been an outspoken critic of President Trump’s policies that benefit the wealthy and hurt the working class.
- Vice President Harris has been outspoken in her support for the Affordable Care Act, and has worked to build up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Additionally, Harris has spearheaded initiatives such as The Justice is Coming Home Campaign, which aimed to improve access to mental health services for veterans. Additionally, Harris has proposed new legislation that would make it easier for people to sue financial institutions and big businesses.
- Vice President Harris has been a vocal supporter of voting rights, using her platform as Vice President to call for the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
- As the Vice President, Harris is responsible for overseeing many of the most important aspects of the U.S. government, such as healthcare, immigration, and education. She has championed progressive policies, such as expanding healthcare coverage to millions of Americans and increasing the minimum wage.
- Vice President Harris has helped to increase diversity in government by appointing more women and people of color to key positions.
- Vice President Harris has been a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform, which she believes is key to reducing the number of people in prison and improving rehabilitation programs. She has also worked to reduce gun violence, including through her work on the bipartisan assault weapons ban and expanding background checks.
- Vice President Harris has championed environmental causes, such as increasing renewable energy production and combating climate change. She has also worked to improve infrastructure, such as increasing funding for transportation and developing a plan to combat climate change.
- Vice President Harris has worked to promote economic justice, by advocating for policies that help low-income Americans access affordable healthcare, housing, and education. She also believes that debt-free college is a key part of improving the economy for all Americans.
- Vice President Harris has helped to address the southern border “crisis” which had seen a surge in the number of immigrants from Mexico and Central America seeking unauthorized entry to the country.
Sources & Information To Learn More
- White House Page On Vice President Kamala Harris
- FACT SHEET: State-by-State Analysis of Record $2.7 Billion American Rescue Plan Investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities
- Vice President Harris boosts HBCU funding following bomb threats
- FACT SHEET: Vice President Kamala Harris Announces Call to Action to Reduce Maternal Mortality and Morbidity
- Harris pushes to make Black maternal health a national priority
- List Of Tie-Breaking Votes Cast By Vice President Harris
- What Kamala Harris has gotten done in her 1st year as vice president
- Kamala Harris Defends Achievements Amid Reported Frustration In West Wing
- Diplomat-in-chief Kamala Harris: Why the Vice President is leading the charge on the Ukraine crisis
