(NewsNation Now) — Thursday marks one year in office for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Nexstar spoke one-on-one with the vice president as she recalled her first year.
The vice president praised the administration’s strides to improve the economy, mitigate COVID-19 and pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
“Our Child Tax Credit, by many accounts, reduced child poverty last year by almost 50%,” Harris said. She added that the bipartisan infrastructure law will create jobs and “make life easier for the American people.”
She added that the country is in a better position now that more than 200 million Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19.
Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the administration for the timeliness and overall handling of immigration at the U.S.-Mexican border. Harris addressed the concerns by saying she was tasked to visit the border and two Central American countries to “focus on the root cause of migration” and discover why people are leaving their home countries to make the dangerous trek across the southern border. She said she is working with businesses to help people find work in their own countries.
When asked about the nation’s waning confidence in the Biden administration, Harris reminded Americans of the success the office has had thus far.
She said, “95% of our schools are reopened, businesses are opening back up. We have therapeutics now.” Harris assured that Biden’s Build Back Better plan, currently stalled in Congress, will help the country get back on track.
Her one regret over the last year, she says, is not being able to meet with people “who have needs and want to be heard” because of COVID-19.
The vice president is scheduled to travel to California and Wisconsin to tout the administration’s accomplishments and goals for the new year.