To the Editor,

We’re not going back, we’re moving forward! That’s the Harris/Walz view.

I appreciate the challenge I recently received— to name one worthwhile thing that Vice President Harris has accomplished (“What’s to be proud of?,” Aug. 29). I’ll gladly do that, and more.

The letter-writer repeatedly referred to the Biden/Harris record, and that’s appropriate — they’ve been a team. The VP has done exactly what her position requires— supported her president. Their impressive record of accomplishments includes:

- Creation of 16 million new jobs; many in manufacturing;

- Lowest unemployment rate in over 50 years;

 - Historic economic growth and new business creation;

 - Lowered prescription drug costs;

- Capped insulin costs at $35 per month for seniors;

 - Passed the first major firearms reform legislation in 30 years;

 - Made largest investments in decades to rebuild infrastructure — roads and bridges around the country;

 - Made biggest investment ever to address climate change;

  - Protected reproductive rights and marriage equality;

 - Increased the number of Americans with health insurance to record levels;

 - Fought threats to democracy;

 - Rebuilt alliances with foreign leaders, helped restore America’s world leadership;

 - Negotiated to bring home Americans illegally detained in Russia.

As the letter-writer dismissed these achievements, he parroted warmed-over claims of Mr. Trump.

No, the President and VP are not socialists. Do Republicans even know the definition? President Truman called out this GOP scare-tactic decades ago, but here it is again.

No, Biden/Harris didn’t cause the Ukraine war, nor the war in Gaza. Putin and Hamas, respectively, bear responsibility.

No, VP Harris wasn’t a “czar” for immigration, doesn’t advocate for open borders, and was never in charge of the border. As illegal border crossings rose in 2021, she was directed to address root causes of migration from Central America. Specifically, she worked with three countries — El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — to improve their living conditions. Notably, migration from those three countries dropped by 35%. Labelling her a czar is inaccurate and misleading.

Let’s contrast with Mr. Trump. This year, a bipartisan immigration bill was proposed in the Senate — the first immigration policy overhaul in decades. But its passage would deprive him of a campaign issue, so Donald Trump killed it. Pure political selfishness.

On the economy, experts point out that our economy is booming compared to the rest of the world. Despite Mr. Trump’s isolationist tendencies, we don’t exist in a bubble — it’s a global economy.

No one wants higher prices for gas and groceries. Increased costs hurt people. The large U.S. fiscal packages and supply-chain issues were likely partial causes of inflation. But it was mainly ending the pandemic that gave rise to a tremendous pent-up demand for goods and services.

In Mr. Trump’s time, the U.S. lost manufacturing jobs. Yes, the pandemic played a role. But that was the primary crisis Trump had to handle, and he disputed it, downplayed it, and misplayed it. That’s his legacy.

President Biden was elected partly because many viewed Mr. Trump as having done a poor job of managing the COVID crisis. He called it a “hoax” and claimed he did an exemplary job handling it. That’s wrong: many countries fared much better in the pandemic than the U.S., by multiple measurements.

Post-pandemic, the toughest Biden/Harris task was to avoid a recession — and they did. Unemployment has been historically low. Inflation has been harder to bring down —peaking at 9.1% in June 2022 but now at 2.5%. And, by the way — gas in Warwick is now under $3/gallon.

There’s more to be done; the work of the Biden/Harris team continues. The positive impact of major legislation this administration passed — especially American Rescue Plan Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Act initiatives — is ongoing. After the 2007-09 financial crisis and recession, employment took 7 years to come back. With the actions taken by Biden/Harris, it took around 18 months.

Kamala Harris is a fighter. As a prosecutor, she took on predators, scammers, special interests — and especially felons. As a public servant, she’s always stood up for the people.

Vice President Harris has helped to deliver historic measures to help people. I am very proud of our nominee. She will make a fine President.

Mark McKenney

Warwick

Editor’s note: A Democrat, Mark McKenney is Warwick’s District 30 state senator