Politics. On Point.

Vice President Kamala Harris has the nation in a frenzy as voters gear up for what could be another historic presidential race. Photo Mason T. / Getty Images Harris, the likely Democratic nominee, has gained the support (and funds) of constituents and donors, (and President Joe Biden) catapulting her campaign to mammoth heights.  At the time of this post, nearly $100 million dollars has been raised in less than one week. Yet the potential first female, and first female of color, president does not keep skeptics at bay. There are still those who question the background,  race , and  record  (particularly the treatment of African American men) of the candidate who claims to care about the rights and freedoms of Americans. The Kamala as Madam President song. Have you heard the new Madam Presiden t song? Lady of Liberty, proud and strong You've led us right where we belong. With every step, every beat You'll bring the light, the truth we seek. Click here for full lyric...

As Vice President Biden continues his visit in Rome, we are afforded this beautiful view of the installation Mass of Pope Francis, just before the start of the ceremony. The US delegation to Rome were the Honorable Susana Martinez , Governor of the State of New Mexico; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi , Democratic Leader of the United States House of Representatives and U.S. Representative from California; and Dr. John DeGioia , President of Georgetown University. Vice President Biden will depart Rome after the Mass, returning to Washington. In case you missed the ceremony, watch it below. Video streaming by Ustream

President Obama appointed Vice President Biden to look into areas of "unacceptable" government spending. In an email that went out to supporters yesterday titled, There's A New Sheriff In Town , Vice President Biden writes... Did you know that the government spends millions to maintain buildings that have sat vacant for years? Or that your tax dollars pay to needlessly ship copies of the Federal Register to thousands of government offices across the country even though the same information is available online? And I bet you didn't know that your tax dollars pay for a website dedicated to the Desert Tortoise. I'm sure it's a wonderful species, but we can't afford to have a standalone site devoted to every member of the animal kingdom. It's just one of hundreds of government websites that should be consolidated or eliminated. This kind of waste is just unacceptable. Particularly at a time when we’re facing tough decisions about reducing our defic...

President Obama and Vice President Biden’s Tax Returns and Tax Receipts Today, the President released his 2010 federal income and gift tax returns. He and the First Lady filed their income tax return jointly and reported an adjusted gross income of $1,728,096. The vast majority of the family’s income is the proceeds from the sale of the President’s books. The Obamas paid $453,770 in total federal tax. In his State of the Union Address, President Obama promised that this year, for the first time ever, American taxpayers would be able to go online and see exactly how their federal tax dollars are spent. You can visit the taxpayer receipt and after entering a few pieces of information about your taxes, the taxpayer receipt will give you a breakdown of how your tax dollars are spent on priorities like education, veterans benefits, or health care. View the President and First Lady’s tax receipt here . View the Vice President and Dr. Biden’s tax receipt here . Understand how and wh...

Vice President, Secretary Duncan to announce new guidance for preventing and responding to sexual violence in school and on campus  On Monday, April 4, Vice President Biden will visit the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to call attention to the high rates of sexual assault and violence committed against young women in schools and on college campuses across the country. In remarks beginning at 11:45 AM, the Vice President and Secretary Duncan will introduce new guidance to help schools, colleges and universities understand their civil rights obligations to better prevent and respond to sexual assault. For over 20 years, Vice President Biden has led the fight to combat violence against women. As the author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, then-Senator Biden exposed high rates of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking experienced by women every day in this country – redefining the way do...

Vice President Biden, attending an event for Senator Bill Nelson , made the following remarks at a lunchtime fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s 2012 re-election campaign. Items he spoke on include updating and renewing our infrastructure. “No business is going to build its own ports, its own runways, its own broadband networks. None are able to that,” Biden said. “The government provides seed money. That’s how we built the transcontinental railroad. That’s how we got the Internet", said Biden. "That’s why Sen. Nelson and I both thought the high-speed rail made sense.” As you know, not everyone is in agreement of the Obama Administration's vision of creating modern, faster rail options.  The state's republican governor, Rick Scott rejected the $2.4b in federal funds offered to Florida for such use, saying the project would lose money and become a state liability. Biden said the administration’s strategy is to address the national debt long-term, and s...

As we reported earlier , the Bidens are traveling to Helsinki, Finland, Monrovia and Russia this week. Here's an account of their first day in Helsinki by White House press pool team member Jonathan Weisman: At 6:35 pm, motorcade rolled from the Hilton to the Esplanade in the center of Helsinki, where VPOTUS, Dr. Jill Biden and Finnegan made a beeline for Marimekko, the famous Finnish design store. Finnegan (the Biden's grandchild) and Dr. Jill were drawn to black Converse basketball shoes covered in tear-dropped shaped, interlocking white loops. The VPOTUS wandered aimlessly like most men do in such shopping occasions, but he did express some skepticism about said shoes."These are Cons," he told your pooler with a shrug. He used to play basketball in the same canvas shoe, not with such a design. "I'm not sure if she wants to go on the court in that but", said Vice President Biden.  Finnegan appeared to be going for the low-tops, but no word ...

Moldova, part of Vice President Biden's planned trip to Europe. Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will depart for Finland, Russia, and Moldova this coming week.  In each country, the Vice President will meet with key leaders to discuss the full range of bilateral and regional issues.  In Helsinki Finland, he looks forward to consulting with U.S. Finnish partners to discuss regional and global priorities. In Moscow, he will seek to build on the reset in U.S.-Russian relations, with a focus on ways to further the prosperity of the two countries.  In Chisinau, he will signal our support for ongoing democratic and economic reforms and for Moldova's aspirations for European integration.

The following op-ed, penned by Dr. Jill Biden, was published today in the Philadelphia Inquirer: Harnessing Community Colleges I have been a teacher for more than 30 years and a community college instructor for the last 18 of them. Every day in my classroom, I see the power of community colleges to change lives and put students on the path to opportunity and success. Community colleges are uniquely American institutions, in which anyone who walks through the door is one step closer to realizing the American dream. And they will play a vital role in the nation's economic recovery. President Obama understands the critical role community colleges will play in getting the economy back on track. They are the key to meeting his goal of making America's workforce the best educated and most competitive in the world by 2020. Last October, the president asked me to convene a summit of community college leaders at the White House, where students, faculty, administrators, and bu...

We missed this event, but was given a very noteworthy account of the evening by White House press pooler, Sophia Nelson.   Sophia writes: Vice President Biden [talked] about the importance of black history month as he reflected on everything from his recent meeting with young pre-teen African American football players at Ft. Campbell (who are the offspring of deployed Afghanistan and Iraq military warriors), to his becoming an attorney in 1968 just after the death of Dr. King (and the subsequent riots), and finally to his train ride with President-elect Barack H. Obama in January 2009 as the newly elected Vice President-elect to the nation's first ever black President. In prepared remarks that lasted approximately 8 minutes Vice President Biden stayed mostly clear of the politics of the day, except for noting at the outset that many of his friends in the Congressional Black Caucus could not attend because they were preparing for votes on the Continuing Resolution to...

Gets The Tie Seen Around The World The events in Egypt may have given the press corp something to talk about at yesterday's 250th press briefing of one Robert Lane Gibbs, perhaps overshadowing his exit, but it was an emotional  last White House briefing , nonetheless. From sounds of "aawww" coming from the press as Gibbs announced that one of his "week ahead" items would include taking his two year-old son, Ethan, to the bus stop - to the applause given after President Obama gave (or perhaps, returned) to his Press Secretary of two and some odd years, a good-bye present encased in a glass picture frame - it was press briefing to remember. Entering the James Brady briefing room moments before Gibbs was about to end his last briefing of the 2010 Obama Administration, the man himself walks in with a gift for his trusty friend, and confidant. President Obama returned to Gibbs a tie, or perhaps 'the' tie that helped launch a presidential campai...

[Having trouble watching the President'sSOTU address?  Click here .] --- As President Obama prepares to make his second State of the Union address, many can expect the president to cover a myriad of issues ranging from gun control laws to partisanship. The lamb and the lion will sit side-by-side in the U.S. Capitol during tonight's scheduled 9 pm address, as for the first time Republicans and Democrats - at least for an hour - will have to tolerate one another for the good of the country. Following the President's Address, senior White House officials will take your questions on the president's speech, live from the White House. The panel will include Brian Deese , Deputy Director, National Economic Council; Roberto Rodriguez , Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy; David Simas , Director and Aide to the Senior Advisor; and Ben Rhodes , Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications. People can send their questions via...

Not even the title of Vice President can prevent one from getting out of jury duty. Vice President Biden was called to his home town of Wilmington Delaware where he participated as a private citizen in a jury selection at the Superior Court of Delaware at the New Castle County Courthouse. President Biden outside a Delaware court house today. President Obama was called to duty last year, but did not participate.  Coincidently, Biden who said he didn't "consider myself different than any other person" , said he hopes the president will participate this year. "I hope the president serves in Chicago if he is called", said Biden. Biden and the other selected jurymen and women, actually ended up being dismissed. --- In other VPOTUS news, Vice President Biden, Chair of the White House Middle Class Task Force, will travel to Greenfield, Indiana on Wednesday of this week where he will visit  Ener1 , Inc., a leading manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion batt...

  Vice President Joe Biden awards a Bronze Star to Staff Sgt. Workman at Forward Operating Base Airborne in Wardak Province, Afghanistan.   Vice President Biden visited Afghanistan earlier this week to meet with  the country's president Hamid Karzai. He traveled also to the Wardak Province for a meeting with local Afghan officials, service members, civilian personnel, Afghan community leaders and US personnel to discuss counter-insurgency operations in the region. The Vice President was briefed on efforts made by U.S. and Afghan forces to clear and hold surrounding areas that will eventually be transferred to Afghan security control. The United States ended its combat mission in Iraq on August 31, 2010, having drawn down to fewer than 50,000 troops from approximately 144,000 in January 2009. The remaining troops are advising and assisting Iraq’s security forces, conducting partnered counter-terrorism operations, and protecting U.S. civilians. The vi...

Photo/CBS. Vice President Joe Biden wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times, published this weekend.   The piece discusses what Congress and the current administration must do to ensure a stabe, self-reliant nation for Iraq. Biden writes that in the six visits he's made the country's police and soldiers have made progress. "Iraq today is far safer and more stable than at any time since the outbreak of war in 2003", writes Biden. "In recent months, using their own intelligence, Iraqi forces have killed or captured dozens of senior leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorist groups. The weekly tally of violent incidents throughout Iraq has dropped to about 160, from nearly 1,600 in 2007." Notwithstanding those accomplishments Biden notes that more needs to be done and calls on Congress to  "fulfill the budget requests to support America’s continued engagement, including our broader diplomatic presence, a modernization plan for the Iraqi s...

This Friday, November 19th, at 10:30 AM, Vice President Biden will hold a Middle Class Task Force event to announce new initiatives to help middle class and low income families secure their legal rights. Following the Vice President’s remarks, there will be a series of panel discussions on these initiatives. Panel participants will include Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis; Larry Tribe, Senior Counselor for Access to Justice at the Department of Justice; senior administration officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Housing and Urban Development; and representatives from the legal advocacy community. Attorney General Eric Holder will make remarks at the conclusion of the program. The event will also be streamed live on www.whitehouse.gov/live .

At a Middle Class Task Force event today, Vice President Biden announced a series of federal actions designed to lay the groundwork for a strong, self-sustaining home energy efficiency retrofit industry. These actions include a new Home Energy Score program that will help homeowners make cost-effective decisions about home energy improvements and a new retrofit financing program called PowerSaver. The Vice President was joined by Nancy Sutley , Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Steven Chu , Secretary of Energy (DOE); Hilda Solis , Secretary of Labor (DOL); and Shaun Donovan , Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). “The initiatives announced today are putting the Recovery Through Retrofit report’s recommendations into action – giving American families the tools they need to invest in home energy upgrades,” said Vice President Biden. “Together, these programs will grow the home retrofit industry and help middle class families save money and ener...

The President and the First Lady both to participate in 9/11 events. President's Weekly Address: A Day That Tested Our Country In the morning the President will deliver remarks and participate in a wreath laying ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The First Lady will be the keynote speaker at the memorial ceremony in honor of the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, along with Mrs. Laura Bush. The event is being hosted by the National Park Foundation. Also tomorrow, the First Lady will participate in a Day of Service event in McLean, Virginia where she will accompany Mission Serve, the jointly run civilian-military initiative that she and Dr. Jill Biden helped launch last Veterans Day. President Obama made the following remarks today at the White House during a press conference about the September 11th attacks and also addressed the new attack against Muslim...

“Honor The Dead By Helping the Living.” During an address by Vice President Biden at the 111th VFW National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, Biden thanked veterans for establishing the Department of Veterans Affairs and building a National Cemetery System. "You worked to secure a better future for service members and their families by helping pass two GI bills", said Biden. Biden told the assembled crowd their work "has never been more important than it is today".   

Vice President Joe Biden today unveiled a new report, “The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation,” which finds that the Recovery Act’s $100 billion investment in innovation is not only transforming the economy and creating new jobs, but helping accelerate significant advances in science and technology that cut costs for consumers, save lives and help keep America competitive in the 21st century economy. “From the beginning, we have been a nation of discovery and innovation – and today we continue in that tradition as Recovery Act investments pave the way for game-changing breakthroughs in transportation, energy and medical research,” said Vice President Biden. “We’re planting the seeds of innovation, but private companies and the nation’s top researchers are helping them grow, launching entire new industries, transforming our economy and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the process.” According to this new analysis, the U.S. is now on-track ...