VP Harris Speaks To Business Leaders At Russell Innovation Center For Entrepreneurs In Atlanta
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to business leaders at the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs in Atlanta, Georgia.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [INTERPOSING VOICES]
00:04 I'm so happy.
00:05 Let me just say, I was saying, I've
00:07 been reading about the work that's happening here.
00:09 And of course, last August, we announced--
00:11 Yes, that's right.
00:12 I was there.
00:13 I had the pleasure of announcing you were there,
00:14 that we were going to have these grants.
00:15 And so congratulations to Atlanta Urban League--
00:18 Thank you so much.
00:19 --for really epitomizing the work
00:22 we want to do around the country and what you all
00:24 have been doing here, especially in this beautiful location
00:27 and with the legacy that you carry and the history of it.
00:31 It's so important in terms of the inspiration
00:33 it will provide.
00:34 The reason I am here is the beginning of my tour.
00:36 I started-- it's called the Economic Opportunity Tour.
00:40 And knowing the history of leaders in Atlanta--
00:44 I want to thank the senators and the congresswomen--
00:48 who have been dedicated to understanding
00:51 the aspirations, the ambition, and the talent of the community
00:54 and then investing in that.
00:56 I wanted to start here as not only an example,
00:59 but a symbol of the spirit of the kind of work that
01:04 produces the kind of excellence that we've seen.
01:07 And this is my first stop in Atlanta
01:10 on the first stop of the economic opportunity tour.
01:12 [APPLAUSE]
01:14 Thank you.
01:16 And so I'm hoping to uplift your stories as an example of what
01:21 is possible with the kind of support
01:25 that includes the resources, that includes
01:27 the relationships, that includes,
01:29 as a fundamental point, access in every way.
01:32 And through that, then, the inspiration
01:36 that comes with that in terms of people
01:37 knowing they can have a dream and they can actually
01:40 achieve it because the resources and the infrastructure
01:43 is there to allow that to happen.
01:46 So it is good to be with you all.
01:48 And while I have all my friends here,
01:50 the microphones and the cameras, what would you all
01:53 like to share about what's happening here
01:56 as an example of motivation for other places?
01:59 [INAUDIBLE]
01:59 I'll sit up here.
02:00 So be careful.
02:03 Jay has been tremendous in helping our brand grow.
02:06 I'm a bottle water company, and we have clothes we recycle.
02:09 [LAUGHTER]
02:11 I know you were.
02:12 [LAUGHTER]
02:15 He's funny.
02:16 That's right.
02:16 He is.
02:17 He's funny.
02:18 That is true.
02:19 In every way.
02:20 That's exactly it.
02:22 Jay helped us out tremendously.
02:23 He was able to put us in with some Fortune 100 companies
02:26 as well as Walmart, and he introduced us
02:28 to some high-level people.
02:29 And he prepared all the businesses
02:31 who met with him to be ready to go into Walmart, not just,
02:34 oh, let's meet and sit and have a conversation.
02:36 And he insisted that they sit down with each one of us
02:39 and tell us why we're not in Walmart
02:42 or how to get into Walmart.
02:43 And here we are 16 months later, and we're
02:45 launching May 17 in Walmart.
02:47 [APPLAUSE]
02:49 My man.
02:50 Can you give us a short summary of what that involved for you?
02:56 Sure.
02:56 What it involved for me is sitting down with Walmart execs
02:58 and talking about capacity.
03:00 Because you can't just walk into Walmart.
03:01 They have 5,000 stores across the US.
03:04 So they actually carved out the space
03:05 for us to launch in Atlanta.
03:07 That way we can control our marketing and our budget.
03:10 And because of that, and because of what Jay put us
03:12 in contact with, they created that space for us.
03:14 Normally, you have to be prepared for all stores.
03:16 But we were able to get just a few stores, 40 stores here
03:19 in Atlanta, and really say, OK, let's see if this works,
03:21 and put our community behind it.
03:23 And so we're working towards that.
03:24 We have a big party here on May 17.
03:26 And I'd actually be passing it along to other business owners.
03:29 So people come up and say, how did we get into Walmart?
03:31 Let me tell you the story.
03:33 And he doesn't have to do that for every person.
03:35 Now he can do it for me.
03:36 Now I do it for someone.
03:37 And now we all do it together.
03:38 So it's been awesome.
03:39 So did part of this relationship help you figure out
03:42 how to pitch Walmart?
03:44 No, not yet.
03:45 Not yet.
03:45 Let's talk about that.
03:46 Because I think people-- there's so many assumptions about,
03:51 well, if you have a good idea, then you can be at Walmart.
03:54 And we know there's so many very specific steps that
03:58 require knowledge about what you're walking into, literally,
04:02 for you to be able to then perform and actually do
04:05 the work of competing and then earning.
04:06 That's right.
04:07 The good thing is I had a background.
04:09 I'm a corporate attorney.
04:10 So it wasn't born to be that we had to negotiate
04:13 with a top company.
04:14 But I think Jay put the resources around
04:16 to prepare the right people.
04:17 Not everyone in this building were
04:18 able to make that introduction.
04:19 So they have resources for people
04:21 who need help with legal, who need help
04:23 with branding and marketing.
04:24 And he kind of helps-- this whole organization does.
04:27 Everybody on this team was so happy for us
04:29 and helping us go through.
04:30 And it wasn't just me.
04:31 It was other people with opportunities.
04:32 Not everyone made it.
04:33 But man, to be prepared in the pitch, in the preparation.
04:36 Because you can't just talk.
04:37 You have to have it in writing.
04:38 So I'll have to--
04:40 [INTERPOSING VOICES]
04:40 --being prepared to go into--
04:42 in Bill Arkansas and sit down with every person
04:44 and tell your story over and over and over again,
04:46 consistently.
04:47 I mean, that just doesn't happen at a moment's notice.
04:50 And I want to say the beautiful part of the ecosystem,
04:52 what Nancy and Urban League are doing.
04:55 I mean, both of us are only in two businesses,
04:56 on the readiness business and the access business.
04:59 Our job is to ensure he's ready for the opportunities.
05:02 Right.
05:02 And we can certify that he's ready,
05:04 then give him the access to go.
05:06 Yeah, that's right.
05:06 And also create a safe space for him to fail and fly.
05:09 If you go into our bathrooms, we don't
05:11 give soap out if it's not one of our people.
05:13 We don't serve water if it's not one of our people.
05:15 But I certainly want the Urban League
05:17 to talk a little about what they're doing,
05:18 which is incredible.
05:19 Yeah, absolutely.
05:20 So the capital readiness program for Metro Atlanta
05:22 is operated by us.
05:23 It's a new initiative, but it is off the ground.
05:27 And so we're focusing on building
05:28 the capacity of our business owners
05:31 so they can access capital and contracts.
05:34 Those are really the key things that
05:36 help a small business grow.
05:37 So I really want to talk to--
05:39 Devon, do you want to share a little bit?
05:41 I can tell you this, capital readiness process
05:44 is a difficult one.
05:46 But Urban League has helped me tremendously
05:48 in just getting business capital, which
05:50 is something people don't talk about,
05:52 getting business capital and knowing
05:54 how to approach these lenders.
05:56 Will you talk a little bit about your business?
05:58 So I'm Dixon Construction Services.
06:00 I'm an unlimited tier GC in the state of Georgia.
06:03 So I do commercial as well as residential building.
06:06 And how many employees approximately?
06:08 Less than 10.
06:09 I'm a small company, so it's a startup.
06:11 But you know what I've learned in doing this work?
06:14 Over 70% of the construction companies in America
06:18 have 20 or fewer employees.
06:21 So you are actually very typical of a thriving construction
06:26 company in terms of the work you are doing
06:29 and the number of employees you have.
06:31 Come back next year.
06:32 He's going to have a baby.
06:35 That is part of the agenda, right?
06:36 So when we announced that you were
06:38 going to be one of the recipients of this approach
06:41 back in August, it was so that you would be on the ground
06:44 and making sure that not only that we highlight
06:47 the work that is happening, but that we allow for access
06:50 to opportunity to grow.
06:52 So it is about startups, but it is also about growth,
06:55 knowing you don't need a $20,000 loan.
06:58 You need a million dollar loan.
07:00 And so this is about scaling up and also
07:04 understanding what already exists
07:05 but has been denied the access to the kinds of relationships
07:09 that make it up.
07:09 Now, one of the things that's great about this grant
07:12 is for four years.
07:14 So we'll be there right with him as he grows.
07:17 A one and done is difficult to keep that momentum going.
07:21 So we appreciate that.
07:23 What have you learned?
07:25 And I'm sure you've been talking with your other colleagues who
07:27 have been designated around the country.
07:29 What can you tell us about thus far what you have learned
07:32 about how it works?
07:34 What's the magic?
07:36 I'd say the magic is the combination of, to your point,
07:39 the education first.
07:41 Assessing where is the business right now?
07:44 Where are the gaps?
07:46 And we help people develop unique, customized plans
07:50 to address their opportunities to build capacity.
07:54 I like to call them challenges or barriers.
07:56 But it could be systems.
07:58 It could be their financial and accounting systems
08:01 need to be upgraded.
08:03 It could be that they need more HR resources or marketing.
08:09 Or they've never done business with the government,
08:12 our biggest purchaser of goods and services.
08:15 And with all of the dollars churning
08:17 through the Transportation and Infrastructure Act,
08:20 CHIPS and Science, the broadband,
08:24 we've got to get out of this business.
08:25 Can somebody say amen?
08:26 Amen!
08:27 Yes!
08:27 That is great.
08:30 Trillions and trillions of dollars for the country.
08:32 Yes.
08:33 And we want to make sure everyone has access to the work.
08:36 Absolutely.
08:37 Must say, we don't have the best track record at the state level
08:41 for doing business with small and minority businesses.
08:44 But we're going to keep pushing.
08:46 Because we've got firms that have the capacity to do so.
08:49 That's right.
08:50 And I think we lose GDP every year.
08:52 Yes.
08:53 Because the brilliant idea that was out of the South
08:55 side of the tracks of every city in America
08:57 never reached the marketplace, and they
08:59 don't believe it's long.
09:00 And I think the only difference between that North
09:02 side of the tracks and the South side of the tracks
09:04 is access, opportunity, and exposure.
09:06 Both of our organizations provide it.
09:08 Yes.
09:08 But I think one of the things that's
09:10 most unique about Atlanta, which I think
09:12 will be the most consequential city in the next 100 years.
09:14 We've got the colleges.
09:15 We've got the corporations.
09:16 We've got the culture.
09:16 We've got the community.
09:18 We also have the collaboration.
09:19 Yes.
09:20 And this is a city where, yes, we can be in the same room
09:23 when we're building together.
09:24 And that's why you see 14 different organizations
09:26 in this building that are all aligned on the same mission.
09:29 And so we're a recipient of the AIM grant.
09:31 Yeah.
09:31 And so one of the largest grants in the state of Georgia's
09:34 history, with the focus on innovation,
09:37 advanced and additive manufacturing, AI,
09:39 and taking it to the communities that have never
09:41 been able to have access to it.
09:43 So we're building a bus to literally go from city
09:45 to city, town to town, throughout the state,
09:47 to bring a little bit of the magic that we do here
09:50 to communities all over the state.
09:52 [APPLAUSE]
09:53 Including a focus, then, of course,
09:56 because in the state of Georgia, we
09:57 know we have many-- and the senators and the congressmen
09:59 talk to me about this all the time-- rural communities.
10:01 Yes.
10:02 Yes.
10:02 And what is happening and can happen there
10:05 in terms of innovation, whether it be innovation
10:07 in terms of smart farming, the innovation that
10:09 comes with a lot of businesses want to move into rural areas
10:14 and create an ecosystem.
10:16 Correct.
10:16 Yeah.
10:17 We want to help facilitate that.
10:18 We're not going to wait on them.
10:19 We're taking that innovation to them.
10:21 That's wonderful.
10:22 Absolutely.
10:23 You know, the piece that you also mentioned
10:25 that is part of, I think, the magic of what's happening here
10:28 is creating access to markets.
10:32 Right?
10:33 So that's a lot of what you're talking about in terms
10:35 of being able to go into that big conglomerate,
10:37 but access to markets in every way.
10:40 So we've been blessed.
10:42 Of the Fortune 50, Fortune 100, 60% of the Fortune 500
10:46 supported our work.
10:47 But it's never just a transaction
10:49 that we like funding to support our work.
10:51 It's UPS, it's Delta, it's Walmart,
10:53 it's all these corporations.
10:55 Yes.
10:55 Funding to support our work, but the support
10:58 to support our entrepreneurs.
10:59 Even inherently in our name, the Russell Innovation Center
11:02 for Entrepreneurs.
11:04 Always keeping the entrepreneur at the center
11:06 of the conversation.
11:07 And never forgetting why we're here.
11:09 But also demanding that our companies,
11:11 who have multi-billion dollar spend--
11:13 Yes.
11:14 The thing that I say most-- and you went to Howard--
11:16 I stole the HBCU model.
11:18 Yes.
11:19 Institution to carry the weight.
11:20 He shouldn't have to go to Walmart.
11:22 I like that.
11:22 Let the institution fight the battles.
11:24 I like that.
11:25 And then we create the bandwidth for him
11:26 to walk right in the door.
11:28 That's exactly right.
11:28 Ready and prepared.
11:29 So--
11:30 That's right.
11:30 So think of us as kind of a Howard for HBCU.
11:32 I like that.
11:33 [LAUGHTER]
11:35 Hey, we love--
11:36 More house.
11:36 More house.
11:37 And more house.
11:38 And Clark.
11:39 I know.
11:40 I was doing it on purpose.
11:42 I know.
11:44 So yes.
11:45 Oh, this is wonderful.
11:46 Yes.
11:47 Can you talk a little bit about-- so you have silk.
11:49 You're doing silk.
11:50 I'm in the back.
11:51 And so I'm Charmaine Gibbs-West.
11:52 And my business is Essence Tree.
11:54 We're a holistic beauty and wellness
11:55 brand that just launched here into the bathrooms of Rice.
12:00 But what I love about what you're doing in my brand--
12:04 I love what you're doing for women business owners.
12:06 That's really important to me as a woman-owned business.
12:09 We sell our brands already in Whole Foods.
12:11 But being here at Rice has allowed
12:13 us to get direct B2B contracts where
12:15 we're doing commercial use of our facilities--
12:19 of our amenities, I should say.
12:21 And we're one of the first businesses to do that.
12:23 So I'm really excited to be here to have
12:25 the opportunity and all the other programs that is present
12:29 here in this organization.
12:31 So it's a really great place to be.
12:33 And I'm really grateful to be a part of it.
12:35 And the synergy.
12:36 I can just feel it.
12:37 Yes.
12:38 Yes.
12:38 Yes.
12:39 Yes.
12:39 Yes.
12:40 Yes.
12:40 I told you on the way up, for everyone listening,
12:43 hers is not a unique story.
12:44 From the AV to the low voltage to the architect
12:47 to the construction to the paintings on the wall,
12:49 the water we drink, the guy that provides the plant.
12:52 We spend more with black businesses
12:53 than most Fortune 1000 companies,
12:55 one or four-year-old nonprofit organizations.
12:57 But the fierce intentionality to say, if I'm going to use soap,
13:01 we're going to want to use one of our soaps.
13:03 Right?
13:03 Or we're going to drink water.
13:04 And we spend with each other, too.
13:06 Correct.
13:06 I hired a lot of contractors here out of this building
13:09 to help me with lunch.
13:09 So it kind of works in a great circle.
13:11 That's right.
13:12 We've got to turn that dollar over.
13:14 Absolutely.
13:15 In our community more.
13:16 And we have the ultimate responsibility to do that.
13:20 And then the influences on our anchor institutions,
13:23 like our hospitals and our universities--
13:25 That's right.
13:26 --and the corporate sector.
13:27 That's right.
13:27 Because when you think-- and the federal government.
13:30 That's right.
13:31 Because a lot of those are our tax dollars.
13:33 The state government, those are our property taxes.
13:36 It's our income taxes.
13:38 We want an equitable share.
13:39 We're 33% of the population in Georgia.
13:42 And the last disparity study showed
13:45 we got less than 1% from the Department of Transportation.
13:50 That's just one agency.
13:52 So we know we have the capacity.
13:54 The disparity study is clear.
13:56 We've got the capacity, but the utilization.
13:59 And so pushing those doors open, breaking
14:03 the cycles of good old boy networks,
14:06 doing business where people are comfortable,
14:09 we have to open those doors.
14:11 Because if we don't, the wealth gap is getting wider.
14:15 Let me just tell you something.
14:17 There is, to your point, a method
14:19 to the madness around what the president and I have been
14:21 doing.
14:22 So we came in practically on day one
14:25 and made a commitment, which we're on track to achieve,
14:29 to double the number of federal contracts
14:33 that go to minority-owned businesses.
14:35 Beautiful.
14:35 Amen.
14:36 [APPLAUSE]
14:39 Because we know that those are-- once you
14:41 get a federal contract, what that has the capacity
14:44 to do to grow a business and grow
14:47 the sustainability of that business,
14:49 including, to your point, what that means in terms of hiring,
14:52 what that means in terms of the overall community
14:54 and economic benefit.
14:56 So that intentionality, coupled with what
14:59 we know we would be doing in terms of the infrastructure
15:02 bill, the chips and signs, what we
15:04 are doing to invest in infrastructure and a clean
15:07 energy economy, there will probably
15:10 be trillions of dollars in federal dollars
15:13 that are now being matched by the private sector.
15:16 One estimate I saw recently, almost $700 billion
15:19 already in private sector, pretty much matching
15:22 investment.
15:24 And in this window, then, there is
15:27 extraordinary opportunity for businesses to grow.
15:31 But again, to your point, they've
15:32 got to be ready before we give the access.
15:35 And that's, again, that's what brings us full circle
15:37 to the point of our tour, this economic opportunity tour,
15:40 but to be here with you as the example of what
15:43 needs to happen everywhere.
15:45 We have one other business.
15:46 I just met his brother in the hallway.
15:48 He was telling me an incredible story about his journey.
15:50 And say a few words, brother, because there are very few that
15:53 look like us in your industry.
15:55 Yes, and there's technology.
15:56 And a lot of us are not in there.
15:58 And my company is MXTZ.
16:00 And I'm not a business person to begin with.
16:03 I was an educator for years, 30-something years
16:05 in the classroom.
16:06 But I was learning more about music
16:08 and how music can actually sustain things.
16:10 And it also sustains the internet.
16:12 So we're working on projects to actually enhance the internet.
16:15 And we're talking to Nokia, IBM, AWS, Nvidia.
16:19 They're all working with us, too,
16:22 as we go into universities and schools.
16:24 That's where we're going.
16:25 I want to go into education first,
16:27 and then go out into government and business.
16:29 So we're looking to enhance how we capture sound
16:32 and how sound is actually taken through the internet.
16:34 Because we learned through COVID,
16:36 the internet didn't work.
16:38 Especially in schools.
16:39 So we've devised an IoT device to capture sound.
16:42 We've actually built our back end,
16:43 which is our enterprise media conferencing platform,
16:46 to actually take all of that sound back into the internet.
16:49 We have some engineers who work on all of this stuff.
16:51 So while we get ready to roll out
16:53 what you have with your Build Back Better program,
16:55 we're going to make it even better.
16:57 All right, then.
17:00 So what are you doing in terms of employees and hiring
17:03 and all that?
17:05 We have 25 employees that we have right now
17:08 who are ready to go.
17:09 And we're actually onboarding in Barber School College,
17:12 bringing that college back to life.
17:14 You're Chris, right?
17:15 And we're also working with the University of the Virgin Isles
17:18 because I'm from the Virgin Isles,
17:19 and I'm not leaving them behind.
17:21 You were just up in the palace yesterday.
17:23 Yeah.
17:25 Yeah, and actually we're talking right now
17:27 to get ready to work with Georgia State University
17:29 right here in Georgia to push this whole thing out.
17:32 Jay, you mentioned when we came in
17:35 that the way in which Mr. Russell was very intentional
17:39 about locating his headquarters here right down the street
17:43 from the Atlanta University Center.
17:46 The Biden-Harris administration has been great on HBCUs.
17:50 They've invested $7 billion in historically black colleges.
17:55 With the B, y'all.
17:56 Yes.
17:56 [LAUGHTER]
17:57 And in addition to that, $150 billion
18:02 in student debt relief, which narrows the racial wealth gap,
18:06 which is part of what we're talking about.
18:08 But I'm curious, with Morehouse and Spelman and Morris Brown
18:13 and Clark right down the street, Morehouse School of Medicine,
18:16 ITC, how does that connect with the work
18:19 that you're doing here?
18:20 Oh, it's the ultimate pipeline.
18:21 There are more black enrolled college students
18:23 in Atlanta than any other place on the planet.
18:25 And so we work effectively with all the campuses
18:28 across the street.
18:29 It's hard to build a business on a semester system.
18:31 And I'm a firm believer you become what you behold.
18:33 And so student aspiring entrepreneurs
18:37 need to see day-to-day payroll making real entrepreneurs
18:39 to be mentors.
18:41 And so we have the Black Economic Alliance
18:43 that just invested in the Center for Black Entrepreneurship
18:46 at Morehouse and Spelman.
18:49 Clark Atlanta has their business program.
18:51 And we literally, from across the street,
18:53 cross-pollinate all the time.
18:55 Because I think that this ecosystem building
18:57 is what makes Atlanta special.
18:59 And Mr. Russell, for the historical context,
19:01 guys, as I shared with them, think
19:02 of a black man 78 years ago having the audacity
19:05 to build a headquarter building that's 50,000 square feet
19:07 in the full city block wide, directly across the street
19:11 from those campuses.
19:12 Because Senator Ossoff, he knew that they
19:14 needed to see the physical manifestation of what
19:16 was possible for people that looked like them.
19:18 So he wanted them to be inspired every day they matriculated.
19:21 And that's why he built his headquarters on this hill.
19:24 But no, it is exactly that.
19:25 I don't think we make it without them across the street.
19:27 But you also have to know that Georgia Tech is
19:29 two miles down the road.
19:31 Georgia State is one mile away.
19:33 So we have this incredible ecosystem.
19:35 Since you mentioned that, one of the other incredible bills
19:37 came out of this administration, the Chips and Science Act.
19:42 And in that, we put tech hubs in that bill.
19:48 And we were intentional about making sure HBCUs
19:50 are part of those tech hubs.
19:52 You want to talk about that work?
19:53 Well, I think that we bring Georgia Tech
19:57 into the conversation around tech hubs.
19:59 There's something on the table now.
20:00 I think Urban League are involved with that as well,
20:03 again, back to the collaboration.
20:04 We have a natural tech hub here.
20:06 And I think with being an incubator accelerator
20:09 with college campuses, with the technical college,
20:11 I think just from proximity that this
20:14 has the opportunity to be the next hub for technology
20:17 and innovation.
20:18 And all of my peers all over the country, none of them
20:21 have quite made innovation inclusive yet.
20:24 We have a shot to do it here in Atlanta.
20:25 One thing I just want to share--
20:27 My brother.
20:27 We will do it.
20:28 June 17 and 18, we are collaboratively
20:32 hosting a transportation infrastructure and equity
20:36 summit where Congressman Hank Johnson is helping
20:40 to support us and others.
20:42 And we know you all will be there as well.
20:45 But we're bringing black businesses, HBCUs,
20:49 our workforce teams, our elected officials,
20:52 and prime contractors and government agencies
20:55 to explain how the dollars are coming through these bills
20:59 into the state and then down to the counties and cities.
21:03 That's day one.
21:04 And day two is, now, how do I get involved and get
21:08 a piece of these dollars?
21:09 And the procurement chiefs from these different jurisdictions
21:14 are going to be on hand to explain,
21:17 these are the projects that are coming.
21:18 These are the types of businesses.
21:20 That's the connectivity.
21:22 And then we'll have technical assistance providers
21:24 like us and the funders, because they've
21:27 got to have those resources to be ready.
21:30 So we are really excited about that.
21:32 That's wonderful.
21:33 Yeah.
21:33 Do you have any information on the SBA Community Navigator
21:36 Program as well?
21:37 Because that's been really helpful.
21:38 We do.
21:39 And we're heading over to the next location
21:41 where they actually will be physically.
21:43 But I'll make sure we follow up with you.
21:45 Yeah, yeah.
21:45 Because there's a lot of work that's been happening.
21:47 And that's one of the reasons that I started this tour.
21:50 Because there's a real gap in terms of the information
21:55 about what's available.
21:56 It's real.
21:57 And the fact that you are asking that question
22:00 tells me we have a lot more work to do.
22:02 Because with you having that Walmart contract,
22:04 you should know about this.
22:07 So that's a measure for me of how much work we still
22:10 have to do to get the word out.
22:11 And I'm so glad you're doing that event in June.
22:13 Can you share that the president is the only president
22:16 in 55 years to make MBBA a permanent agency?
22:20 That is what our administration said.
22:21 A lot of people don't know.
22:22 And lifted the leader to an undersecretary level.
22:26 We had Eric Morissette.
22:28 He's here.
22:28 He's here for our tour.
22:29 He's here too?
22:30 Yes.
22:31 Madam Vice President, I just want to say thank you.
22:33 I hope that the movement of next year--
22:34 [APPLAUSE]
22:37 I think we're going to take a picture.
22:42 Yeah.
22:42 [INTERPOSING VOICES]
22:45,
23:07 Here we go.
23:07 Everyone, look at that.
23:08 [INTERPOSING VOICES]
23:12 Can't see her in the back.
23:13 Can you see everybody?
23:14 Can't see her in the back.
23:15 Can't see you.
23:16 I'm going to take it first.
23:18 Right here, everyone.
23:19 Thank you.
23:20 Perfect.
23:21 One, two, three.
23:24 Thank you.
23:24 Thank you.
23:25 One more.
23:26 Right here.
23:26 Thank you so much.
23:31 Thank you.
23:31 All right.
23:32 [INTERPOSING VOICES]
23:35 [SIDE CONVERSATION]
23:39 [SIDE CONVERSATION]
23:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]