Reserve Lounge
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
THE VICE PRESIDENT: What’s up, Philly? (Applause.) Are you going to elect John Fetterman to be the next senator from the great state of Pennsylvania? (Applause.)
So I’m in town to say hey to all of you. And —
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Hey!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. And to thank you for what you continuously do and what you’re about to do in 11 days, because the stakes could not be higher.
You know, I was saying to the lieutenant governor, soon to be senator, that one of the things I know about this town and this state is you love a fighter. And you got a fighter in John Fetterman. (Applause.) You got a fighter. You got a fighter.
And we need our fighters on the ground in D.C., because the fight is on. It really is. You watch what’s happening around the country, in particular from extremist so-called leaders. And, you know, the stakes are high in this election. And so, I’m here to thank you for what you did to elect Joe Biden and me to the White House in 2020 — (applause) — and to ask you to do what you know how to do again in these next 11 days.
And I will remind you of what you did. You turned out historic number of voters in 2020, historic number of young voters in 2020.
And let’s not forget, it was during the height of a pandemic. People had suffered so much loss — loss in terms of their families and their friends, loss in terms of jobs, loss in terms of normalcy. Parents were trying to figure out how to educate their children online. So much was going on — during the height of a pandemic. And you turned out and turned out an historic number of voters.
And what I think it was about is that folks went to the polls because they knew — because you promised them: Look, voting is about putting in your order. It’s about saying — and we’re going to remind people they went to the polls in 2020 because they said, “You know what? We need to deal with child poverty in America.” And because they voted, we extended the Child Tax Credit so that we, in the first year, reduced child poverty in America by 40 percent — (applause) — including Black children in poverty in America.
Folks went to the polls and put in their order and said, “You know what? Parents are having a hard time. It’s expensive to raise these children. We need some help.” And because you voted, and because you convinced your neighbors and your friends that their voice mattered, we got elected. And we were able to pass a tax cut for working families to get up to 8,000 more dollars in their pocket to help with the cost of food and medicine and school supplies. (Applause.) Because we voted. Because we voted.
And people went to the polls and said, “You know what? There are some of us who are proud HBCU graduates.” (Applause.) You know. (Laughter.) “And understand what centers of academic excellence they are but that they need some help in terms of the financial situation because we don’t have the same kind of endowments as other institutions.” And because people put in their order, we put over $5 billion into our HBCUs. (Applause.)
People stood in line; they took time out of their lives, their busy lives, to vote. They said, “You know what? I appreciate what y’all did in 2008 with the Obama-Biden administration and reforming the healthcare system, but there’s still more work to do because it’s still expensive to get prescription medication.” And in particular, because, you know, we have family members who have diabetes, and the cost of insulin is so expensive that, for some of our seniors in particular, they’re making a decision about whether they fill the doctor’s prescription which is about their life, versus paying their rent or buying food.
And because they stood in line and voted — because they said — Black Americans are 60 percent more likely to have diabetes; Latinos, 70 percent more likely, and we need to deal with that. Because they voted, we got elected. And we are now capping insulin at $35 a month. (Applause.) Because they voted.
Because they voted and said, “You know what? The pharmaceutical companies keep jacking up the price of prescription medication. Can’t you negotiate against that?” And because they voted, for the first time in so long we took this on and said Medicare can negotiate against the pharmaceutical companies to bring down the cost of prescription medication for 60 million Americans. Because you voted.
Because you voted and you went to the polls, and you said, “It’s about time we have a Black woman on the United States Supreme Court.” (Applause.) Because you voted, please call her Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Applause.)
That’s the power we have.
So let’s look at what’s happening. For almost every one of what I’m talking about, we need those numbers in the United
States Senate. Right now, we are looking at a situation with Thurgood Marshall’s court. The court of Thurgood Marshall just took a constitutional right from the people of America, from the women of America.
The way we can undo that is we need the votes in the Senate because the President is prepared to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act. But we need two more votes in the United States Senate. We got to hold on to our numbers, and we need John Fetterman in the United States Senate. (Applause.) We need him there. We need them there. We need those votes.
The President has said: Two more senators in the United States Senate, and he will sign the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. (Applause.) Two more senators.
So I’m here in Philadelphia to ask for your help. And while thanking you and recognizing what you did in 2020, I’m asking you to do that again. These seats — that Senate seat is for six years. Understand what that means. That six years is a long time in the life of folks who have things at stake in this election.
So we have 11 days. Voting has already started. I know the power of this room. I know the power that we have, understanding that we will not let things happen to us, that we know our power to determine the future of our country in so many ways, including when we put in our order and go to vote.
So, please, with everything you’ve got, we can’t get these 11 days back. And then it’s going to be six years for Pennsylvania. Six years.
So I know you got a lot going on in the next six days. I know you got a whole lot — you know, a game that you’re going to be watching. (Laughs.) (Applause.) I know you going to be watching that game. Mad respect.
But we cannot get back these 11 days, guys. Six years. All right?
So, Josh Shapiro has to be governor. (Applause.)
And John Fetterman. Please, help this fighter fight. Help this fighter fight. Because we need you.
And with that, I thank you. And enjoy the evening. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
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