Kamala Harris Promises Equity in Hurricane Recovery Resources: ‘Not Everybody Starts Out at the Same Place’

Vice President Kamala Harris promised that she and President Joe Biden would focus on principles of equity and environmental justice as they worked to rebuild communities after recent hurricanes.

“It is our lowest income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions and impacted by issues not of their own making,” she said.

The Vice President spoke at a Democratic National Committee Women’s Leadership Forum with actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who kicked off the discussion by talking about the devastation caused by hurricanes in Florida and Puerto Rico and climate change.

“We have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality but we also need to fight for equity understanding that not everybody starts out at the same place,” she said.

Harris said she would focus on principles of environmental justice.

“If we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we have to take into account those disparities and do that work,” she said.

She celebrated the Biden-Harris administration’s $370 billion in climate spending for tackling climate change.

“The crisis is real, and the clock is ticking, and the urgency in which we must act is without any question,” she said.

Harris said she and Biden would not only provide immediate aid, but help rebuild communities “in a way that they can be resilient, not to mention adapt to these extreme weather conditions that are part of the future.”