A.G. Gancarski
Vice President Kamala Harris visited a vaccination center on Jacksonville’s Northside Monday before a roundtable event nearby on food insecurity in an effort to spotlight that “help is here” via the American Rescue Plan Act signed into law this month.
Harris, in her first visit to the state as Vice President, visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency vaccination site at Gateway Mall after being greeted at the airport by a bipartisan delegation, including Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry.
Curry is arguably the staunchest backer of former President Donald Trump to work with the new administration, and his attendance is a sign that even a former head of the Republican Party of Florida understands Democratic control of Washington is non-negotiable.
Harris’ visit comes as vaccination locations in Jacksonville continue to perform below capacity, even as Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded eligibility to those as young as 50.
Harris, U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, Curry, and City Council President Tommy Hazouri toured the vaccination center in the Brentwood area. Harris told pool reporters she wanted to “emphasize the importance of vaccinations and getting the vaccine, you know when it’s your turn.”
Harris later went to Feeding Northeast Florida for a listening session and roundtable discussion about food insecurity, a burden eased by relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
She offered big-picture messaging about “hunger in America,” the “dignity of work,” and the “duty each one of us has to our fellow human being.”
“The work we did with the American Rescue Plan was designed with you in mind and those you work with in mind,” Harris told the roundtable.
She added that $1 billion in the plan targets food insecurity specifically.
“History is going to show that this is a moment of extreme crisis and there are heroes that just show up,” Harris said of the volunteers at food banks and so many other non-profits that have “been doing work on the ground.”
Lawson noted that roughly $200 million will go into Jacksonville from the relief act.
“You’re spending all this money. This is one time we get to bail out America,” Lawson said. “It’s going to work.”
Republicans offered critiques, meanwhile.
The Republican Party of Florida said most of the stimulus money “is going toward a left-wing wish list and bailing out primarily Dem-run states.”
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott expressed dismay also over the bill’s “liberal payoffs to try to save the political careers of vulnerable Senate Democrats this cycle … a liberal wish list that spends trillions without prioritizing real help for American families fighting and recovering from this pandemic.”
“Less than 10% of the spending in this bill is directly related to COVID and less than 1% funds vaccine development and distribution. The rest? Tax hikes, a new welfare program, bail outs for New York and California, pension bailouts and funding for Planned Parenthood,” Scott said.
One comment
Frankie M.
March 22, 2021 at 7:28 pm
I’m surprised Lenny didn’t hang the “Gone fishin” sign on his door. Good on him.
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