Action News anchor Brian Taff's full interview with VP Kamala Harris

all good okay okay wonderful good awesome Madam vice president pleasure to meet you thanks for your time today our audience appreciate your time as of course as you know we're sitting here in a state and arguably in front of an audience that 54 days from now could decide the outcome of this presidential election you hear it more than I do people want to know more about you and about your specific plans at the debate the other night you talked about creating an opportunity economy wonder if we can drill down on that a little bit when

we talk about bringing down prices and making life more affordable for people what are one or two specific things you have in mind for that well I'll start with this um I grew up a middle class kid my mother raised my sister and me she worked very hard um she was able to finally save up enough money to buy our first house when I was a teenager um I grew up in a community of hardworking people you know Construction workers and nurses and teachers and I try to explain to some people who may not have

had the same experience you know if but a lot of people will relate to this you know I grew up in a neighborhood of folks who were very proud of their lawn you know and um and I was raised to believe and to know that all people deserve dignity and that we as Americans have a beautiful character you know we have Ambitions and aspirations and dreams but not everyone necessarily has access to the resources that can help them fuel those dreams and Ambitions so when I talk about building an opportunity economy it is very much

with the mind of investing in the Ambitions and aspirations and the and the incredible work ethic of the American people and creating opportunity for people for example to start a small business um my mother you know worked long hours and our neighbor helped raise us we used to call her I still call her our second mother she was a small business owner I love our small business owners I learned who they are from my childhood and she was a a community leader she hired locally she mentored our small businesses are so much a part of

the fabric of our communities not to mention really I think the backbone of America's economy so my opportunity economy plan includes giving startups a $50,000 tax deduction to start their small business it used to be $5,000 nobody can start a small business with $5,000 but investing in people's innovative ideas and giving them the ability to go for it um opportunity account economy means look we don't have enough housing in America we have a housing Supply shortage and what that that means in particular for so many younger Americans the American dream is elusive it's just actually

not attainable so part of my plan is to work with the private sector and housing developers to give them a tax credit to be able to partner with us as the government to build and my goal is 3 million new homes by the end of my first term in addition to help people who just want to get their foot in the door literally and so giving first time home buyers a $225,000 down payment assistance to be able to just get in the door and then they will do the work that they need to do to

save and to pay that mortgage and to build wealth for themselves and their family these are some examples of what I mean when I talk about an opportunity economy and a lot of it has to do with just the community I was raised in and the people that I you know I admired who work hard you know and deserve to have you know their dreams fulfilled because they're prepared to work for it you talked at the debate and at previous appearan is about turning the page on the past and in fact here today in Johnstown

you're talking about a new way forward yeah I think some people have a question given maybe your current role as Vice President of the United States how different you are from Joe Biden and so I wonder if there are one or two spots policy areas or approaches where you would say I'm a different person well I'm obviously not Joe Biden and um you know I I offer a new generation of leadership and so for example thinking about developing and and creating an opportunity economy where it's about investing in areas that really need a lot of

work and maybe focusing on again the aspirations and the dreams but also just recognizing that at this moment in time some of the stuff we could take for granted years ago we can't take for granted anymore um for example another um plan that I have that is a new approach is to expand the child tax credit to $6,000 for young families for the first year of their child's life because that is obviously a very critical stage of development of a child and a lot of young parents need the help to buy a car seat or

a crib or clothes for their kids and so my Approach is about new ideas new policies that are directed at the current moment and also to be very honest with you my focus is very much in what we need to do over the next 10 20 years to catch up to the 21st century around again capacity but also challenges crime and Public Safety are two major issues uh right at the Forefront of Voters Minds in Philadelphia as well where crime is a significant issue when we talk about crime the conversation turns to gun safety as

well and I think you actually probably caught a lot of people off guard maybe a bit by surprise in the debate the other night when you mentioned that you were a gun owner I know you said it in 2019 as well want to talk about your values on this issue when it comes to gun ownership where do you draw the line in America on gun ownership and gun use well like you said Brian I am a gun owner and Tim Walls my running mate is also a gun owner we're not taking anybody's guns away I

support the Second Amendment and I support reasonable gun safety laws part of my approach to this is I was a career prosecutor for most of my career I have personally prosecuted homicide cases I have personally looked at autopsies I have personally seen what assault weapons do to the human body and so I feel very strongly that it is consistent with the Second Amendment and your right to own a gun to also say we need an assault weapons ban they're literally tools of War they were literally designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly I

say we need Universal background checks the majority of NRA members support that why cuz it's just reasonable you just might want to know before someone can buy a Lethal Weapon if they've been found by a Court to be a danger to themselves or others you just might want to know two final questions if I might sure on the appeal of the man you were running against as you drove here today you likely saw a lot of trump signs he has an historic appeal in this country and as you are someone running against him and try

to understand that I wonder how you distill it what do you understand his appeal to be and how do you speak to his voters or maybe people who just share his values but are open to something else I based on experience and uh and a lived experience no in my heart I know in my soul I know that the vast majority of us as Americans have so much more un common and what separates us and I also believe that I am accurate in knowing that most Americans want a leader who brings us together as Americans

and not someone who professes to be a leader who is trying to have us Point our fingers at each other I think people are exhausted with that approach to be honest with you I think people want a leader who has common sense and tries to find Common Ground I'm supported by over 200 Republicans who worked for both presidents Bush John McCain mitt Romy I'm supported by the former Vice President Dick Cheney congress former congressman Liz Channing and I think people are more willing now um in light of the the hate and division that we see

coming out of Donald Trump to say hey let's let's put country first and I think that just makes us stronger and more healthy as a country to say look we will we can all debate our differences around you know various policies but let's stop with the division like enough of that let's bring everybody together and finally as you introduced yourself to America in a new way they've heard much of your story at the Democratic National Convention and in that debate earlier this week if there's one thing that you wish Americans knew about who kamla Harris

is that you don't think they know yet what would that be I don't know I've mean probably it's not very different from anybody watching right now I love my family um one of my favorite things that I lately have not been able to do is Sunday family dinner I love to cook um I I have incredible friends my best friend from kindergarten is still my best friend um I think that um I mean I have a career that really and I said it the other day you know as a career prosecutor I never asked a

vict victim of crime were they a Republican or a Democrat the only thing I ever asked them is are you okay and I think that's the approach that most Americans want regardless of who they voted for in the last election um in terms of turning the page and charting the way forward I imagine you're looking forward to cooking Sunday dinner again I am looking forward I'd love I yes I am looking forward to cooking with the whole family gets involved the kids each have their role yeah well it's a beautiful family and we thank you

for your time pleasure meeting you thank you thank you thank you thank you all wonderful thank you guys you mind we're do aw pH yeah