REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS IN VIRTUAL FINANCE EVENT FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE

Via Teleconference

6:15 P.M. EDT
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everyone.  Hi, everyone.  Thank you.  It is wonderful to be with all of you tonight.  And thank you all for the work you are doing and for being a part of this, and for the work you — you all have been doing.  I know who you are, and your work has been tireless.  So, thank you. 
 
Jaime, thank you for not only your kind words, but your continuing and steadfast leadership as our party Chair.  You’ve been doing an extraordinary job.
 
From California to New Jersey to Virginia, the DNC is playing a critical role in the 2021 elections.  And I specifically mention New Jersey and Virginia because, of course, those elections are coming up in a matter of days.
 
But with the support of all those gathered here, I am confident that the DNC will keep it going in 2022, in 2024, and beyond, but starting in 2021 with those two elections. 
 
But again, thank you all for being here tonight. 
 
You know, I believe — and I think we all do — that we are in a fight for the future of our country and our world and — and our children.  And I want to talk about what we are up against and how I believe we will win that fight.
 
So, in 2020, Democrats held on to the House, Democrats took back the Senate, and Democrats reclaimed the White House, and thanks to all of the work you all did.  And it was an important election.  And since then, together, we have done many important things.  
 
We have administered millions of shots in arms in the midst of a global pandemic.  We have sent out millions of $1,400 checks to people who sorely need it just to get by, having lost employment through no fault of their own.  We have created millions of jobs, again, during one of the most difficult times in terms of our economy that we’ve seen in generations. 
 
And as you undoubtedly have seen, we are hard at work to pass the largest infrastructure investment our nation has seen since before World War Two and the budget that reflects the values of our nation, that invests in childcare.  
 
You know, one of the things about the pandemic is it really did expose some of the failures and fissures and fractures in our system, including the need for affordable and accessible childcare for all parents, the need for eldercare, and the need to understand our collective responsibility to support working people in their day-to-day needs to take care of their families.
 
And Joe and I ran on this and said we would get this done.  And to win this fight for our future, the President and I are determined to continue to deliver for the American people, restoring their trust in our government — trust that has been lost over a pretty significant period of time — and by also showing the world that democracy can work.
 
And we all know what’s at stake.  Just look at what happened and what is happening in states like Texas — those anti-voter laws, the anti-woman laws.  You know, I think that when we’re looking at Texas and Georgia, as two examples, we know that what’s happening there can happen anywhere in our country. 
 
So, we’ve got to make it clear to the American people that Democrats who are fighting against the unfairness, the injustice of these approaches — that Democrats are on their side.  And we will show the American people what Democrats stand for, because we know what we stand for.  We stand for women’s rights.  We stand for workers’ rights.  We stand for voting rights, which is why we’re working hard to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.  We stand for our DREAMers and our farmworkers.  We stand for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, and all people.  We fight for dis- — people with disabilities.  We stand for our children and lifting them out of poverty, and the planet that they will inherit.  
 
In short, Democrats fight for the people — for all the people of our nation. 
 
So, to win this fight for our future, we must deliver for the American people.  And we will tell the American people who we are as Democrats.
 
And there is one last thing we need to win, and that is — we need your help and support to win.  With your support, we will be able to build the infrastructure now that we need to protect our majorities in 2022.  
 
So, before I was talking about our infrastructure bridge — bill — bill, and that’s roads and bridges and human infrastructure.  But then there’s the infrastructure of the party, and that’s what I’m segueing into.  
 
And, you know, some people are saying, “Well, you’re talking about 2022.  That seems kind of early.”  And maybe it does, but, really, it’s — it’s not.  And with your support, we’ll be able to expand our “I Will Vote” program to ensure that voters everywhere — no matter where they live, no matter what party they belong to — will be able to cast their vote and have it counted. 
 
This is about election integrity.  Because, above all, we as Democrats — we stand for democracy, and we stand for full participation in our democracy.  We believe democracy is stronger when everyone participates and weaker when anyone is left out.  
 
So, thank you all again for being here tonight.  Thank you all for your support.  And please keep doing what you’ve been doing.  It really makes a difference.  And on top of all of your obligations, all of the demands of your life, that you have been so generous in giving back to your communities and to our country in this way really makes all the difference. 
 
We will win this fight for our future.  And together, I know that we will accomplish all that we see is possible and all that we know can be, regardless of what has been. 
 
Thank you, all.
 
                    END       6:22 P.M. EDT