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News
AMERICANHORT A
from
the Hill
President Biden Suspends Campaign, Endorses Joe Manchin, among others; it appears the list has been
Kamala Harris narrowed down to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
This past weekend, while recovering from COVID- and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
19 in his Delaware beach house, President Joe Biden Rachel Pick
succumbed to pressure from Democrats. He formally
suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed APHIS 2023 Impact Report: Major Achievements in
Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Plant Protection and Pest Mitigation
nominee. Democrats quickly thanked President Biden for
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
his service as President and endorsed VP Harris.
has released its 2023 Impact Report, highlighting its
The daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, Harris achievements for the year. Among these accomplishments,
attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., and APHIS allocated over $70 million to support 382 projects
UC Law in San Francisco before starting her career as under the Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 program,
a deputy district attorney in Oakland, California. Harris part of a nationwide effort to enhance the country’s
was the first Black woman elected District Attorney in infrastructure for pest detection, surveillance, and
San Francisco, Attorney General in California, and South mitigation, as well as to protect the U.S. nursery system.
Asian senator. The agency cleared 27,235 imported shipments containing
1.87 billion plant units (including cuttings, rooted plants,
As vice president, Harris has faced criticism for her
and tissue culture) and over 670,811 kilograms of woody
handling of issues like migration and border security yet
plant seeds, preventing the entry of 2,176 quarantine-
has energized a base of namely women and younger significant pests at U.S. plant inspection stations.
voters because of her stance on gun violence, women’s Additionally, APHIS issued more than 591,000 Federal
reproductive issues, and book bans. phytosanitary certificates, directly or through authorized
The Harris campaign is now vetting candidates to State and county cooperators, to facilitate the export
serve as Harris’ running mate on the Democratic ticket. of U.S. plants and plant products to approximately 200
While initial front runners included Michigan Governor trading partners. You can read the full report here.
Gretchen Witmer, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/aphis-
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona impact-report-2023.pdf
Governor Mark Kelly, and outgoing West Virginia Senator Kamron Newberry
54 SUMMER 2024 • Free State News
