Harris was greeted at T.F. Green Airport by a delegation that included Gov. Dan McKee and his predecessor, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, as well as U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Reps. Jim Langevin and David Cicilline.
The first stop for the VP was Books on the Square on the East Side of Providence, where she bought four books, Simply Julia, The Nickel Boys, The Topeka School, and The Dutch House.
Next up was a visit at the Social Enterprise Greenhouse, a business incubator in Davol Square.
After Philip Trevvett, a co-founder of the Urban Greens co-op, described how the co-op fostered community during the pandemic, Harris shifted the conversation to her administration’s push to spend more on public transit and other forms of infrastructure.
“So my question to you,” Harris said, “in addition to addressing the food desert issue, how is an investment in public transportation connected with what your mission is, to make sure that all people have access to nutritional fresh food?”
Trevvett responded, “Providing better public transportation makes it easier to get groceries, makes it easier to get to the store and back, and it’s one of the key reasons for our site, why we select why are where we are.”
At District Hall in the Wexford Innovation Center, Harris and Raimondo took part in a panel discussion with a group of women business owners, some who cited affordable child care as a vital need.
The VP responded by saying that’s why some things not traditionally considered infrastructure are part of her administration’s spending proposals.
“I define infrastructure — one of my definitions — is the things you just need to get where you need to go,” Harris said. “So let’s talk about why child care is part of that. For example, it is our intention to say that no working family should pay more than 7 percent of their income in child care. So you don’t have to put it on your credit card.”
The women on the panel welcomed Harris’ remarks. Republicans in Washington have been less receptive, objecting to what they call excessive spending.
Asked about that, Harris told reporters that the administration continues to meet with members of Congress. “We are sincere and serious about the potential to actually get something done together,” she said. “We’ve believe it’s possible and we’re not going to give up on that until it becomes evident that it’s not possible.”
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org.
