Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday in Baltimore, Maryland, that reducing population can contribute to improved air and water quality.
Harris made the gaffe during remarks promoting the Biden administration’s massive green spending agenda. “When we invest in clean energy and electric vehicles and reduce population, more of our children can breathe clean air and drink clean water,” Harris said.
“The climate crisis impacts everybody, but it does not impact all communities equally,” she added. “Poor communities, rural communities, native communities and communities of color are often the hardest hit and the least able to recover.” (RELATED: Biden Says He Plans To Build A ‘Railroad From The Pacific All The Way Across The Indian Ocean’)
VP HARRIS: “When we invest in clean energy and electric vehicles and reduce population, more of our children can breath clean air and drink clean water.” pic.twitter.com/yhZzDmkeAM
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 14, 2023
Harris made the remarks during a speech at Coppin State University in Baltimore to announce $20 billion in taxpayer funds that the Biden administration has made available for green energy initiatives via the Inflation Reduction Act, according to The Baltimore Sun.
The White House clarified that Harris misspoke and had intended to say “pollution” rather than “population,” referencing the official speech transcript posted to the White House’s website in communication with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Environmental Protection Agency chief bureaucrat Michael Regan joined Harris for the speech, which also focused on “environmental justice,” according to the Sun.
The $20 billion comes from two programs under the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. More than half of that sum will flow to low-income and historically-disadvantaged areas, including rural and Native American localities, according to a White House official who spoke with NBC News.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order in January 2021 directing federal agencies to allocate their green energy spending such that at least 40% of certain program benefits end up in marginalized communities.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that the White House referred the DCNF to the official speech transcript after the article was published.
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