Education officials yesterday, about reopening schools in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. He talked about his plan to used federal support for Public Schools. Hosted by the National Education association, this is 40 minutes. Biden good afternoon, everyone. I am jill bi husbanddens. Jill bidens husband. You had up an organization that holds the future of the country in your hand and what happens to our children is going to determine what happens to this nation. Some one elses children. They are our children. They lift our National Ambitions aloft and you have them in our hand and your members are lucky to have you paired i am certain that because i happen to be married to one of your members. Jill and i are honored to have your support. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I cannot wait for the parch of donald trump and that chance to replace betsy devos and the opportunity for us to make a lot of progress together. Im confident. A teachering to be oriented department of education and it is not going to come from the top down, is going to come from the teachers up. Know, i know there are number of issues and immediate challenge is that continued spread of the coronavirus and what it means to the Upcoming School year. Look, we saw this challenge late january. Donald trump failed to take action. Not testing, contact trusting contact tape tracing, crating response will standards. Not anything we need to take control. To get educators back in the classroom. You understood what was needed. We all understood. Back in 2009 when i was overseeing the recovery from the greatest crisis in american history, we need to stand up for educators. It was an 84 billion program that had to get out there than a 18 months. And we had less waste and fraud that any program that size other ever. Less than. 2 . Billion to save 400,000 education jobs. We knew it had to be done in the face of a crisis. The federal government understood every state had required a balanced to budget localities have to balance their budget. There is a reason the federal government needs to be able to deal with crises like this. This time around when the pandemic struck, trump tried to provide support failed. We have to support educators and trump failed to do it. Thelocal government and state and local government. Leader inlosi, a real the house of representatives did their job, they passed a thing called the heroes act. 950 billion for state and local governments. Trump and the Senate Republicans refused to do the job. This is maddening. Making sure educator salaries do not get cut and educators do not get fired. We could have kept every educator employed instead we local00,000 state and education jobs since the pandemic started due to budget cuts. Absolutely unacceptable. We are already short the number of teachers we need National Late before the crisis. A plan to i put out reopen safely including for Public Schools. That requires steps like insuring schools have funding for physical alterations like plexiglass to maximize social distancing, the things every scientist has told us we need to do. We need the federal government to give stools schools and states and local governments clear guidance. We need to prevent the pandemic from further exacerbating inequities in our Education System by ensuring every american has access to broadband and technologies to participate in learning. Highers probably a probability we will need to continue to rely on mote learning and parts of the country for longer. Knowve seen and all of you Student Access to technology can cost kids a full year on more of learning. We need to get this done now. It has been argued for a while. It is only part of it. Once we get ahead of the pandemic we are going to have another opportunity to make progress and we need to ensure you and your students get treated with dignity you deserve. Planmarks on the education require tripling funding for title i schools, one of the first things districts must do with their funding in order to get this money they have to ensure higher salaries for educators. That funding would have eliminated that 23 billion annual gap between the majority white and nonwhite districts, one of the single best instruments and investments we can make to address the stomach inequality. In addition to getting the raises you deserve we will get you the resources you need and double the numbers of social workers and counselors in schools. Mental health is an enormous issue. They need has been exacerbated by the pandemic. There is a lot more in my plan. We are going to fix universal prek for all two and three results. Twoyearolds and threeyearolds. The bottom line here, we win this election, we are going to get the support you need and the respect you deserve. You do not just have a partner in the white house. You will have an nea member in the white house. And if im not listening i will be slitting alone in the lincoln bedroom. Absolutely, totally committed, to making so much more progress. Theres so much to talk about and i know you have questions. I wish i could talk longer about how passionate i feel about some of these things. My mother would say, hush up and i would be happy to take some of your questions. We really appreciate you being here and it is an honor to have you here, Vice President biden. Fmr. Vp biden you are the best. Arent i . Thank you. You know that you have received our support the primary, that is almost over, and that part of our process now is for you to make your case to the 8000 delegates watching you right now and one of the things you asked is to listen to some of the questions from our members who asked, i appreciate you wanting that and i can read them to you but we took you up on that and we found ella gets asked some of the most frequently asked questions that came to us. We said go up, what you want to hear from joe biden and so we are going to do that. We had nea members throughout the country who had the opportunity to submit those questions online and of the thousands, these are the delegates that were selected. Parkero now to turquoise in durham, north carolina. 5 mediase is a k specialist. You may not ask your question. May now ask your question. Schools durham public title is Media Coordinator and myself given title is racial and social justice teacher. This school year will be my 10th year teaching. Vice president biden, black lives matter. We should have had the folks who killed Breonna Taylor arrested and charged long ago. Curriculumroducing a that we are expecting to teach affirms and mentions the aforementioned. Students students not because i believe in their intelligence and strength and duty and i need them to believe in themselves because our world does not make them feel that way. Abolitionist teaching is our duty. It is my duty to structure a curriculum that talks through conflicts and issues such as Police Brutality and how to fight it while staying safe and how to organize and how they can come to terms with the possibility that they might be the next victim of White Supremacy at absolutely no fault of their own. The fee teaching in the resistance is hard work. But we have to do it. Because we need our kids to know that they are a part of this movement to smash White Supremacy. Vice president biden, heres my question. You talk a lot about fighting for the soul of this nation. How will you work with others to change the system, that has benefited corrupt souls from day one . Fmr. Vp biden it is what i have been doing my whole career and that is how i got involved. This is been a wakeup call for the country to take action. It is past time. And are growing economic [indiscernible] with so many people [indiscernible] it starts off as you know better than i do. I spent a lot of time working with young people. I have only ever taught young people. The first thing is you people treat the first thing is to treat them with respect, tell them about dignity and hold their heads high and remind them everybody gets knocked down but you have to get up. Reminding them they can do anything at all, anything at all, they set their mind to. And that you and i and others, and i fight every day for this. The changes that are reference, but also im going to rough im going to listen. To take on real police reform. Cops to higherl standards. Things about those Young Students you may have in those circumstances, they find they have a mom or dad unfairly or maybe fairly incarcerated. When they get out of school, what happens . When they get out of prison, what happens . They are treated as if they are still in prison. We have to take on the criminal justice system, like rehabilitation, not like it is punishment. No one should go to jail for abusing drugs, they should go to medical rehab. We have to invest in our criminal justice focus on ending cash bail, diverting drug offenders to rib ella tatian. Two rehabilitation. Two reentry. Addressing the Police Department will address inequities. We have to root out [indiscernible] it education, in the economy, in health care. Im going to fight the inequity amplified by [indiscernible] so they do not see their parents [indiscernible] because we cannot afford it. I am feeling sick but im afraid if i go and it comes to the movement, the fastest way to add universal care is to expand obamacare. I have a detailed way to get it done. Double the funding for Treatment Health centers. On the vital frontlines, make all testing and treatment, vaccines [indiscernible] childght to give every [indiscernible] i know that you know this because at the university and the last 10 years had come up with so many startling insight. 40 of a childs brain is developed by the time they are three. Up to 60 provided universal prek. That gives 58 the chance for them doing well all the way through school. Tripling title i funding to close the gap between the rich and poor. Making Public College free for every family earning less than 125,000 per years. I propose funding for hbcus which i have been deeply involved with in my career, because they do not have a kind of backup funding to provide for elaborate things we need to compete for government contracts. To become everything from [indiscernible] to lead in a just and equitable recovery for small businesses. You all know better than i do and i know pretty well, that a community, particularly poor communities, latino or black communities, they have two run small businesses. The local hardware store, the local drugstore, the local supermarket. What is happening now under this unfair recovery trump is whatng, they are not doing the house wanted to do, to provide that money for those with 10 or fewer so they can stay open. They should be getting the loans. To rebuild strong, inclusive community. And that generate selfawareness and community. Things. E big if ever there was a time for big change, now, we have to make this at least an era of action, to reverse the stomach racism, with long overdue concrete themes with this program we can do it. One thing has happened, we reached and i think i may sound like a history professor, there are inflection points in american history. Or something happens and big changes occur. What has happened now, with this covid virus, and so many people affected by it, and so many people unnecessarily died because of it, all of a sudden people are realizing, oh my god, who has been carrying us on their back . Essential workers. Who are the essential workers . Overwhelmingly, people of color. Black, latino, asianamerican. And they are getting paid five dollars, six dollars, seven dollars per hour. Theyre the ones in the grocery store, and im able to buy and pick up my groceries outside. Theyre the ones who are not able to stay home because they have no choice. They have been carrying us on their back. I think the public is ready to have their blinders taken off. Oh my god, this really happened . This really happens, is it really this way . Time think i have spent with the floyd family. I cannot breathe. I cannot breathe, mama. Mama. What happened was, the whole world saw it. They just not they did not just hear it. They saw it. They saw his face smashed up against the curb. They saw it for eight minutes and 46 seconds. They saw it. They said, oh my god. We are going to change this. We are going to change it in a big way. The last thing i will say, as a kid i used to stutter a lot. [indiscernible] to someone who was not treated well or has been a dumb of systemic not comparable to someone who has been a victim of systemic racism. But i will tell you do not talk down to these kids. I am smart, do not [indiscernible] these kids are capable of doing anything anybody else can do. Lets not dumb it down. They are incredibly capable. That is why i want title i funding money to make sure that at schools they have these courses as well. Children 10 to turn out to be what you expect of them. Lets show them the love and respect. In the support. We gotta give their parents more economic power. [indiscernible] conduct. Nal we can do this. Thank you for what you do. Thank you, turquoise , for that important question. We got that question from a lot of delegates . Thank you representing the importance of lifting that up. And thank you, Vice President biden. Our next question comes from one of our Education Support professionals in michigan. Vice president biden, you know that we are teachers. We are support professionals. Staff, andege faculty. So this is one of what we call, esps. Education support professionals. She has firsthand experience dealing with our very unqualified secretary of education, betsy devos. I would like to introduce you to follow mcconnell, a paraprofessional in the utica school district. Paula, you now have the ear of the Vice President. What would you like to say . Thank you, good afternoon, ve president biden. My name is paula mcconnell. Im from Macomb County in the great lakes state of michigan. I have been a peer educator for over 30 years. We as next pandemic, educators have some concerns. President trump disc it i didnt disregarding Wearing Masks and pushing for the immediate opening of schools. And the highly unqualified betsy devos either has nothing to say, or is getting already scarce Public School valorous to private education. And an economic crisis that threatens to slash funding to public education. Dedicated educators everywhere are at risk. Vice president biden, id like to know what you have to say to educators and parents that are so desperate for leadership, but find none with this present administration. Biden you know, to parra phrase teddy roosevelt. He said the American People can handle bad news, but you have to give it to them straight. That has never been more important than it is now. This. Ns have seen its come time to get his act together to beat this virus. But he squandered that sacrifice and its all about him. Think about it. He thinks the presidency is about him. It doesnt have a damn thing to do about him. Its about you. Its about the American People. First of all, it would be nice to have a president to tell the truth occasionally. Well do the work. But whos going to lead . We need a plan. Ive outlined the key steps for reopening safely including by opening childcare and schools reopen. Parents have to be able to trust their kids are safe when theyre able to go back to work when that occurs. One of the most important steps to reopening the entire economy. Educators make tremendous sacrifices. Theyve done the hard work to make the shift of online earning. Its not the educators fault because they come from poor families and because many places dont have but the longer the School Closed the classes are remote, the more students especially low income students and students of color fall behind. I would possibly lies the federal government to take the step one, provide for schools to reopen. Make sure states and districts have the funding to keep educators on the job in the idst of this crisis. Boost federal funding to cover the cost of p. P. E. , redesign classroomsings all the things schools are going to need to do to reopen and open with normality. Scale research and how covid affects children. Help understand how the virus affects children and create evidencebased guidance. Build a safer school best practice clearinghouse. And to help school and School Boards and children and childcare providers all across the country and around the world to share information approaches and pause for reopening. Work with childcare providers. Union, community and families on how to reopen safely. The bottom line is we are not 50 different nations in the United States and territories, beyond that territories. We are we are one nation. One nation. Nd we act and and the way the president tries to turn this into all some kind of racial contest about, i think it just its its immoral. We have to have a clear message based on science, based on what the experts tell us. And based on the circumstances that we allow to make sure we get the input and the people who are in the field, in the classroom, in the buildings dealing with the problem. Look, even when you get there, we figure out how to test and trace which doesnt exist very much in the country, how about a president that says, you know, stop the testing, its showing too many people have it . Stop the testing . Youre doing too much. He said slow it down. What in gods this is not about him. This is about the safety and security of our people. And parents including teachers are not going to be able to go back to work until theyre sure and one souln come who is 13 years old are able to be taken care safely. We can do it. The public is ready to pay for it. It will increase productive any this country. It will increase salary and increase the benefits of the whole country. Thank you you so much. Thank you, paula. And thank you, Vice President biden we have one you more question for you. Our final educator comes from enola, pennsylvania just outside of harrisburg. We picked pennsylvania just for you and not because our Vice President becky bringle is standing over here making noise. Yes. All right. All right. Settle down. Settle down. Settle down. Settle down. Settle down. Good grief. Becky bringle, i know you know becky, but she lived in harrisburg for a long, long time. Jimbo lamb, apparently your good friend, i did not know that is a High School Math teacher. Jimbo, you are on with Vice President biden what is your question . Thank you madam president and hello, Vice President biden hey, jimbo. Im a teacher in the Southern Region of the Pennsylvania Education Association for 17 years. I appreciate you providing time for me to ask this question and for listening to educators. Today, were more divided than we have been at any time in my lifetime whether it is about racial justice, Wearing Masks or simply a persons right. As educators, we teach our students to be respectful, kind and to work with others. But our leaders fail to model this behavior. So heres my question, as president , what will you do to hear the voices of all americans not just those that support your agenda . Im a mbo, i pennsylvania guy who married a philly girl. And i was just out in harrisburg. I as anyway, look, when started the campaign over a year ago and i announced. I said one of the things we have to do is unite the country and i got clobbered by everyone running for president , the democrats. They said you cant unite the country. I tell you what, if we cant unite the country, were in deep, deep, deep, deep trouble. This is the most important election of our lifetime. Not because im on it because four more years of donald trump will ruin the character of this nation. And the character of our country is literally on the ballot. Lives an livelihoods as well. I think were facing a serious threat. We have to meet it as one country. This president gives us no direction. And puts us against one another. You cant go on like this in the nation. Half are Wearing Masks. Half of the plan. Half just hoping for the best. This country is crying out for leadership and for healing. Thats part of a president s job to lead, to listen and to heal. And to listen to everyone. Its too personal and too ugly. It weakness us. It distracts us. It divides us. Its not who we are. And i refuse to accept our nation is permanently divided. It is not. Principals must never be compromised. But compromise is not a dirty word. Its how our government was designed to work. Ive done it my whole life. And so ill do this as president. But there are two reasons, jim, i decided to run this time. You know, if every if the perfect president if she or he requires to have 10 great attributes, ive not met one that has more than six. But all the attributes that you have may not be appropriate for that in history. There are two things ive done very well at. One, no one has doubted my word. Ive been able to bring democrats and republicans in the United States congress for the past decades to deal with big issues. Theres a reason for that, jimbo. I never questioned whether a man or womans motives. I question their judgment but not their motives. When i first got elected in 1972, i was only 29 years old. So i had to wait. My birthday didnt come until 17 days after the election. I was in washington. On december 18. Now, i got a phone call from a First Responder who said, i felt so badly for him in retrospect. He said youve got to come home. Theres been an accident. What happened . And the poor kid just blurted out, your wife is dead. Your daughters dead and your two boys may not make it. My wife and my daughter was 18 months old. My son almost 3. The other one almost 4. They were christmas shopping. The tree was on top of the car. They were broadsided by a tractortrailer and they were killed. The two boys made it. So what happened was i decide i didnt want to be United States senator. And my brother jimbo, when i was a kid we called him jimbo. His name is james. Well, jimbo is five and a half years younger. Raised all our money, the kiddie campaign we had. But the state could always get another senator. My kids couldnt get another dad. Senators ppened was and they said youve got to run. Youve got to be sworn in. And in retrospect, they saved my sanity. Just stayed for six months. Just stayed for six months. Ill never forget, the senator saying, only 1702 people have been sworn into the senate. Your wife worked so hard to get you elected. You owe it to your family. So i was supposed to go sworn in. I decided not to go. Well, the next day, i was in the hospital with my son, and they sent up the sex e secretary of the senate who swore me into the sent up the secretary of the senate who swore me in the hospital. One of the things i had to do was i had to meet with majority the r at 2 00 depending on week on tuesday afternoon. And i get an assignment from the leader, mike mass from montana. I thought all senators got assignments. No senators get assignments. Matter of fact im the first senator i ever knew i didnt know any better. Took me about five, six weeks, to take me pulse to the see how i was emotionally. So we walk in. Just before 2 00, walked down from below the senate. Walked out there, there were no eaders and i had my meeting. The next thing that happens is i walk in the door, and two friends of mine, one became a great friend and still is bob dofmente and the other was teddy kennedy. They introduced the disabilities act. And a particular senator got elected who didnt have much of a heart i thought. On the floor just saying theres no requirement that taxpayers should have to pay for lives on the buses. But i had to go off and have my meeting. Had to is it across the desk whats the matter, joe . And i then went off to the story saying there was no social redeeming value, no heart, etc. , etc. Joe, what would you say if i told you that senator and his wife were sitting in your home in december 1970 . This is now may of 1973. 1970. And he was a young man in our statewide newspaper. Hats him embracing me under his arm with two steel crutches. He looked out and said all i want from christmas is for someone to love me and take me home. I said what would you say that i adopted that young man . Ive learned something. He said over my years he said its always property the question of a man or woman. But you dont know what it is. And once you question your motive you can never do that. If i say your in the pock of or thised a that and by the way lets have an education bill, youre not going to work with me. So ive been successful bringing people together. They dont question motive. To ther areas their going inherit a world of in disawry. My whole career its been on national security. And thats what it is now. And the reason im running thats why i think, you know, im not flying. Many republican senators or Council Members would tell you i think theres a lot we can agree on. With trump out of the way, thats some of the problems out there. Particularly problems in education. That are tough now. Thats why i can get so much done. Look we always have a tremendous opportunity to peel back. We cant afford to open our doors and our ears and our hearts. Ive got to make sure that we need nobody out. They need each of us to do that in our country. Let me ask you something. When is the last time you thanked somebody . , you said last time thank you . Did you you go to him or her and say thank you. When is the last time you looked at each other and said, can i help you . T happen one person at a time. You challenge others. Tried it with my mom and you walk a mile. We can disagree, but we dont have to be disagreeable. Its how together we can do this. But we have to treat concluding comment, my dad used to always say, joey, everybody everybody deserves a second chance. Be treated s to with dignity. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, jimbo for that question. Thank you, paula and turquoise, delegates. We want to thank our fellow delegates who were able to channel those questions that came in. Nd we have so much more. But we needed to hear from you, Vice President biden, about what you would bring to this, and we thank you for spending this time with us. Before you go, we want to give you just a few minutes. If you want to make any final comments if you ask these delegates for their support. Thank you. Ive been arguing a long time because ive been listening to my wife. By the way, my deceased wife was a teacher as well. Education should be put more in the hands of educators. We should have more input on what you teach, how you teach it, and when you teach it. You are the ones in the class rooms. You should have more input. And i really mean this, not im not just trying to be nice. You are and you need that more. So first of all, this is going to be a much more teacher centric Education System. The vast majority of money comes from the state. But the portion of federal youre going to have a major say on what its spent and where its spent. Next e next thing i want to say one all is that i am angeredat really always me is the way educated people when youre walking in a reception line and someone says and what do you do besides teach i go, oh, ok. What do you do . Oh, i teach. Tell me about what you teach. Or i have a startup company. Or im in sales with such and such. You are and im not joking about this you are the most important profession in the United States. Give them ones that confidence. You let them believe in themselves. You were going that. And i promise you you will never ind an american president with who is more teacher centric and more supportive than me. Joe, any time without educators are going to outcompete fuss. Its time we raised the game to make you the managers. Thank you all for having me. And i appreciate everything youve done for me. I really do. Thank you you so much Vice President joe bind. The pack recommendations to become the next president of the United States. The decision will be made by mailin ballot. It is possible to do mail ballots in a very good way. Yes, it is. We are going to do that. It will come to the home of these almost 8,000 delegates and we will be counting those at the in august. And so Vice President biden, its been an honor to have you in our house today. God bless and be safe. Well, if ient biden [cheers and applause] President Trump and the first lady participate in the salute to america fourth of July Celebration at the white house today. Live coverage begins at 6 45 p. M. Eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Org, or listen live on the free cspan radio app. Washington isin henry olson, the senior fellow at the ethics and Public Policy center. Good friday morning. Thanks for being with us. For being with us. Guest thanks for having me on. Host he has been referred to as teflon don, bouncing back from bad tweets or that new spirit how do you view the president four months before the election . Guest i think he is in a weakened position. He has slumps and bumps. He is in his most extended slump since 2017 and he has not seen a bump. I think a stick figure out how to get back on the track and he needs to figure out how to project calm, stable leadership that america wants in a crisis