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Jan. 15, 2025 13:40-13:54 - CSPAN
13:52
Vice President Harris Gives Remarks at Breakfast Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
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Participants
Main
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kamala harris
d 06:59
Appearances
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al sharpton
msnow 03:15
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Speaker Time Text
I Thank You For Lifting Up Communities 00:13:10
unidentified
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
For what purpose does the gentleman from Missouri seek recognition?
Could we get the yays and nays?
The yays and nays are now requested.
Those favoring a vote by the yays and nays will rise.
A sufficient number having risen, the yays and nays are ordered pursuant to clause 8 of Rule 20.
Further proceedings on this question will be postponed.
Pursuing to Clause 12A of Rule 1, the chair declares the House is recessed, subject to the call of the chair.
And the House back at 4 p.m. Eastern for votes.
Today, work on a measure to provide tax relief for residents of Taiwan who also pay U.S. taxes and consideration of a bill to increase the transparency of the salaries of high-level employees of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation's largest public power provider.
You can watch live cover to the House when members return here on C-SPAN.
We're also looking to bring you live coverage of the White House briefing when it begins, and we're likely to hear more from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the ceasefire and hostage release brokered between Hamas and Israel, a major breakthrough in the 15-month war.
The Associated Press reporting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the final details are still being sorted out.
Vice President Kamala Harris honored Martin Luther King Jr. on what would have been his 96th birthday during a breakfast in Washington, D.C. that was hosted by the National Action Network.
Vice President Harris also addressed the wildfires in her home state of California.
al sharpton ▲ ● ▼
I had told some that I had a surprise this morning, other than that we are honoring, of course, Andrea's birthday next week.
Andrea, we had President Biden sing to her one year.
But I want at this time at this country to deal with the reality of where we are and how we go forward.
In 1972, as Hakeem Jeffries referred to this morning and our chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Yvette Clark knew, I started at 17 years old as youth director for Shirley Chisholm.
And people thought Shirley Chisholm was out of place.
And I remember going with her as she ran for president.
In 84, I was there when Reverend Jackson ran.
In 04, I ran.
It's been a continual journey.
And I was in Chicago thinking of Shirley when I walked on the stage to say she didn't get the nomination, but we lived to see a woman get one.
And a woman come very close to breaking the ceiling, not only for blacks, but for women as well.
I've watched her career from district attorney to attorney general of the state to U.S. Senator to Vice President.
She never shamed us.
She never let us down.
And I want you this morning to welcome the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.
unidentified
Good morning.
kamala harris ▲ ● ▼
Good morning, everybody.
unidentified
Good morning, good morning.
kamala harris ▲ ● ▼
Good morning, everyone.
Good morning.
Good morning to everyone.
Please have a seat.
I heard everybody was hanging out this morning.
I thought I'd come by and say hi.
And mostly, I just wanted to come by to thank everybody.
Starting with our Reverend Sharpton for the truth tellers who are here in the spirit of Dr. King and this day that we celebrate him, his birthday, January 15th, and every day, and the spirit with which he did what he did.
Reverend Sharpton, you and the leaders of NAND live that legacy in every way that is important.
This is about soldiers who understand the importance of using our feet, praying, doing good works that are about lifting up the people with a sense of optimism and purpose.
Always, Nan, Reverend Sharpton, speaking truth, even when it is difficult to speak and more difficult to hear.
The leaders here understand, as I often say, that the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you beat down, it is based on who you lift up.
I thank you for always lifting me up, but more importantly, I thank you for lifting up whole communities of people who must be seen and heard and who deserve all the dignity that God gave them to be able to live a life that is productive and a life where they have a quality of life, where they know how important they are and how powerful they are.
So I came by to say thank you.
As you all know, I am a native Californian born in Oakland, California.
But I do want to speak about the California fires and the devastation that has occurred in Southern California because of these most recent wildfires.
You know, communities like Altadena.
You know, you're talking about generations of families that have lived there.
Some of the first hardworking black families who were able to buy property in California and then pass down those homes through generations.
Many of those families who live in those homes and live intergenerationally within a block of each other, who have lost everything.
So I want to speak about them.
I know we pray for them.
But also, I've been thinking about it also in the context of what I saw when I was in North Carolina when I talked to families in Georgia after most recently Hurricane Helene.
And so Nan, as we move forward with this new year, one of the requests that I make of the leaders here is let's use the voice of NAND in a way that lifts up what these moments of tragedy and these extreme weather events are doing to the communities that you have historically worked to uplift.
Because there are a couple things going on that I see as patterns.
One is this, and it's about what the insurance companies are not doing.
To extend coverage, they are canceling coverage, making it more difficult for young homeowners who are just the first time buying their home, not even insuring them.
And what that means to those families and whole communities with these predictable extreme weather events, which are increasing.
Climate change is real.
We have long known that some of the communities that will be most devastated by them are communities of color, hardworking communities, black folks.
We know when we talk about the Gulf states, right?
So that's one issue.
The other issue that these extreme weather events are highlighting, but is a big issue for all of us to deal with, is the rampant amount of misinformation that is transiting throughout communities,
and the work that we then must do to not only recognize that it's happening, but figure out how we're going to jump into that stream of misinformation in a way.
that we, at the very least, can debate it based on the facts that we know to be true in terms of what's happening on the ground, but also to rebut the sources of that mis and disinformation, because it often leads the people who NAN has historically worked for in a place of despair and in a place of helplessness and hopelessness, again using as the example extreme weather events,
when people are being told, oh, there will be no FEMA response oh, you are not entitled to this or that, or leading them astray with information that is misinformation about what they will be entitled to, which exceeds what it might be, and then they feel disappointed and they turn the whole system off.
So I'm here to talk about these couple of things because they've just been on my mind in the last week, but for quite some time.
But, but again, I'm going to just close my comments by saying this, this is an extraordinary group of leaders and what Dr. King taught us and and the King families here, you know, I'm always quoting Coretta Scott King, ours is a journey.
Ours is a journey, and the fight that we are in, which is the fight to uplift the people, the fight for freedom, the fight for civil rights, the fight for dignity, the fight for human rights, must be fought and won with each generation, and what we know is that our definition of the win is a definition that takes us over a period of time where part of how we measure the win is, are we making progress?
How we measure the win is based on the knowledge that it is an enduring fight and that we must be strong and that, whatever the outcome of any particular moment, we can never be defeated.
Our spirit can never be defeated, because when that happens, we won't win.
And as far as I know and am concerned, when I look at the group of leaders here, this is a group of winners.
This is a group of winners.
So let's stay in the fight, let's do what we got to do and again I thank you Nan, for all that you have done for me and so many people who are not in this room.
Be blessed.
Have a wonderful new year.
Thank you.
al sharpton ▲ ● ▼
Marty, Andre, while you are standing, we have different faiths in the room.
I want Andrea and Martin to get on this side, Vice President.
Let's have a silent moment of prayer for those in California.
Let us join hands in a silent moment of prayer for those in California.
Amen.
As Dr. King would say, we shall overcome.
We shall overcome.
We shall overcome some day.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe we shall overcome some day.
Thank you.
You may be seen.
Thank you, Madam Vice President.
Legislative Highlights 00:00:56
unidentified
I don't know what I'm doing.
al sharpton ▲ ● ▼
Well, was that a good surprise?
unidentified
And the house is gaveled out.
Today, members are working on several pieces of legislation, including a measure to provide tax relief for residents of Taiwan who also pay U.S. taxes.
Lawmakers are also considering a measure to increase transparency for the incomes of certain employees of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation's largest public power provider.
And later this week, we expect a bill to come to the floor that would deport undocumented immigrants convicted of certain sex offenses and other violent crimes.
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