When Joe Biden announced on Sunday he was committed to having a female Vice President, the name Kamala Harris shot to most people’s minds.
But the California Senator is not ready to talk about potentially joining the ticket; not when we have a far more pressing matter of coronavirus to deal with.
“We have arrived at the point where we have a public health epidemic, and that is my first and only order of business and priority,” the former attorney general said in Washington on Tuesday, when asked about Biden’s comments.
“That’s why I’m here,” she said, pointing to the Capitol, “because I’m saying we need to vote on bills so that we can get people paid sick leave, we can get them paid family leave, we can make sure that people who are sick can get tested without a cost, including those who are uninsured. So that’s my first and only priority.”
The Oakland native was at one time in the running for the Democratic nomination herself, and considered a top contender; however she pulled out of the race suddenly in December, citing a lack of campaign funding.
Earlier this month, she endorsed Joe Biden, like most other Democratic drop-outs. Only Bernie Sanders remains, whose path to the nomination has been narrowing as primaries lean toward Barack Obama’s former VP. (Bernie also said “in all likelihood” he would nominate a female VP too).
But as for becoming Biden’s running mate? Harris has other priorities to take care of first – including securing paid sick leave.
Not only was this important for financial survival, she said, without it people will be forced to go to work, which risks spreading the virus even further.
“We want to make sure that everybody is healthy and that they’re safe, and that they’re taken care of. One of my biggest concerns is sick leave,” she said.
“You talk about whether you’re a single mother or a married couple who are wage earners but are not making enough to actually afford child care, or not making enough as a low-paid worker, to get paid sick leave. What are they going to do? They’ve got to go to work. They’ve got to feed their babies. They’ve got to pay the rent. And that means that even if they are sick, they may not be home.”
“So what I’m saying is we need to pass paid sick leave, because it is in everyone’s best interest.”
Currently, Biden has 1,181 of the 1,991 delegates needed for the nomination, while Sanders trails with 885. All campaigning, debates and town halls have shifted to digital format without live crowds, amid the ongoing attempt to maintain social distancing and flatten the curve of infection rates.
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