Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said she couldn’t understand Congress’s delay in passing the next coronavirus stimulus package while people face hunger, small business closures, and evictions stemming from the pandemic.
“I don’t understand the hesitation,” Harris told ABC’s Good Morning America on Wednesday. “The people are suffering.”
The latest stimulus package has been under negotiations for months.
“The numbers I saw, 1 in 6 families in America are describing their children as being hungry,” she said. “The number of small businesses that have had to permanently close, or are in fear of permanently closing, the moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures are about to end.”
She added, “The people here in Washington, D.C., have got to stop living in a bubble. The people have a right to expect that their leaders in Congress see them and act in their best interest.”
Harris explained that President-elect Joe Biden’s 100-day mask mandate would stress guidance and would not be an order.
“The 100 days of the mask, he’s urging, there’s no punishment,” she said. “It is about getting through the pandemic and making sure everyone has access to the vaccine, and taking it.”
In the interview, Harris demurred when asked which areas of government she intended to focus on in her role, ABC host Robin Roberts said.
Asked if she would pursue particular initiatives while in office, Harris responded, “It’s about the American people,” said Roberts.
A Harris aide told the Washington Examiner last week that she would not take on a major focus area at the start.
“It’s not going to be something like, ‘You deal with climate change, I’m taking the economy.’ It’s not like that,” the aide said. “They are going to approach these crises together and be true governing partners.”
Harris also applauded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for recognizing her and Biden’s victory in spite of President Trump’s continued efforts to contest the election results.
“It would have been better if it were earlier, but it happened, and that’s what’s most important. … Let’s move forward. And where we can find common purpose and common ground, let’s do that. Let that be our priority. As opposed to finding out where we disagree, let’s actually focus on where we might agree, and then get some work done,” Harris said.
The interview was recorded Tuesday at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where Harris attended school.
