Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Moderated Conversation with Steve Harvey During the Nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour
Hyatt Regency Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
1:35 P.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon. (Applause.)
Chairman Jones, thank you so very much for that introduction and hosting us today.
MR. JONES: My pleasure. Thank you.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Shall we?
MR. HARVEY: Yes.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Okay.
MR. HARVEY: Well, how are you, Madam Vice President?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I am very well, Mr. Harvey. How are you doing?
MR. HARVEY: You’ve been pretty busy.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I’m in these streets. (Laughter.)
MR. HARVEY: (Laughs.) Yeah, you are. Really, you are.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Uh-huh. (Laughs.)
MR. HARVEY: What’s your schedule after this?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, I just flew in from Washington, D.C. I — after I — I leave here, I go back to Air Force Two to go back to D.C. And then, about four hours later, I get back on the plane to go to Switzerland to do a few meetings there regarding what’s happening in — in Europe and — and, particularly, what’s happening with Ukraine. And then, I will do those meetings and then come right back.
MR. HARVEY: Me and Marjorie are going to Croatia Tuesday. Can — that plane you own, can we use — (laughter) — Air Force Two, that’s the one. That’s nice.
Hey, listen, let’s — let’s get started, because this is — this is important information. You and I have talked about this many times before on my show. And it’s — it’s a lot of things you’ve been doing.
This past fall, you had a — you had a “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: And you talked to over 15,000 college students to expand upon all of the urgent issues that concerned us as a people. And you’ve been traveling across the country doing a lot of other things.
And just recently, after addressing the epidemic of gun violence and women’s rights — reproductive rights and all of this that seem to be taken away — you’ve launched an Economic Opportunity Tour. So, tell us a little bit about this tour and why you launched it.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, I’ll start by talking about where we are right now.
So, this hotel, many may know, was — was referred to as the “Hotel of Hope.” This was the only hotel that allowed Dr. King to speak. And it was here in this very ballroom that Dr. King gave one of his last speeches — I think it was the last one in his Poor People’s Campaign — talking about, of course, what he was on the verge of doing, which was to merge the Civil Rights Movement with — which is, of course, a movement about justice — with the movement around economic justice. And it was shortly after he was here that he was assassinated.
And so, the symmetry of being here as the first Black Vice President of the United States to talk about the importance of growing economic opportunity for the community is something that I feel very strongly about.
And so, I’m doing this tour — (applause) — thank you.
So, I’m doing this tour mostly because I believe that for — for those of us who do the kind of work that — that our administration is doing, that President Biden and I are doing, in order for it to be real, it’s got to hit the streets. And the only way that that will happen in a meaningful way is if the people are aware of what is available to them and then take advantage of that.
So, I wanted to come and speak to 100 Black Men, to this organization, because I know who everyone here is. This is a room full of leaders of every age who can help get the word out about what we have made available, because it’s so important people take advantage of what’s available.
So, I’m doing this tour to, one, highlight the importance of speaking truth about the obstacles that have existed for access to capital, for homeownership for Black folks, and what we are doing to actually deal with those obstacles in a way that we create opportunity. I’m going to talk a little bit about that in a minute.
So, for example, what we’re doing around reduction of debt, debt forgiveness; what we are doing to address the racial wealth gap as it relates to a number of issues, including access to capital for our small businesses and entrepreneurs; what it means in terms of housing discrimination and the work that we need to do and we’ll continue to do to address those issues.
And, really, the — the essence of this tour is — is borne out of a belief that people need more than just what is — what is necessary to get by. We want to get ahead.
And we know that it is important that we have reduced Black unemployment to historic lows, but that’s a baseline, which is that people have a job.
In our community, we also have ambition, aspirations, incredible ideas. And the division between that and actually being able to put it to use is often about access to the relationships or the capital that can take us from those good ideas to creating a business, starting a business, growing a business. So, that’s why I’m doing this tour. (Applause.)
MR. HARVEY: Well, let’s talk about this capital for — for entrepreneurs and — and small businesses, because that’s been a really important part of your mandate here as vice president.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: But little do a lot of people know, you were doing this long before you even got to the White House. You have been a huge proponent about entrepreneurship dollars and stuff that’s available now. And a lot of people are not aware. And there’s a lot of, like — like you say, really brilliant people in this audience here who are entrepreneurs. It ju- — it — the minds in this room is really startling, man.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: There’s some really sharp people here — right? — and if they only knew what was available for them. Tell us more about this work for small business and entrepreneurs.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, like you said, Steve, when I was in the United States Senate, I actually was responsible, with a group of other senators, for getting $12 billion more dollars into our community banks — community banks.
So, the importance of community banks is they are — as they are called — they’re in the community, led by members of the community. They are people who understand the capacity of the community, the needs of the community, the culture of the community.
They are folks who, unlike the big banks, will see the dream that an individual has for what is possible. And instead of rejecting that dream because maybe it’s something they’ve not heard before, they will listen to it and then give folks advice — including financial literacy advice, helping people know how to run a payroll, how to deal with inventory — in a way that they can start a business and sustain that business and grow that business.
So, the money that we are putting in community banks is intentional in that it is there that we believe there is going to be the greatest opportunity for folks in the community to actually do the work that is about entrepreneurship.
What — since I’ve been Vice President, I also created what’s called the Economic Opportunity Council, and I got the big banks and big tech companies to invest private equity into community banks. And at — we’re on track to getting 3 billion more dollars into community banks because of that partnership. (Applause.)
And there’s a specific piece of that that’s very important. You know that VCs, venture capitalists, only 2 percent of their investments go to Black businesses. Right? We also know that Black folks are one third — I think the number is three times less likely to apply for business loans. And a big part of that is that nobody likes to be disappointed, right? And the feeling, rightly, after so many things can disappoint, that “I don’t want to go for it and then be rejected.”
MR. HARVEY: Right.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, again, putting the money into community banks is about putting it into a place where people can walk in with a sense of dignity that is respected to actually be able to have access to capital. So, we are doing that.
The other piece that we have done is from the day that we came in office as an administration, President Biden and I made a commitment that we would increase federal government contracts by 50 percent to minority-owned businesses. And understand what that means. Once you get a federal contract, it’s usually for 5 years, and you can renew it for 10, 20, 30 years.
So, Steve, unless somebody messes that thing up, it’s yours for a very long time, which is going to be a source of incredible wealth-growing opportunity for yourself, for your family, and for your community.
So, these are some of the things we’ve done around access to capital to address the disparities that have, for too long, existed.
And I put this all in the context of another reason I’m doing this tour. Since we came in office, we passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We are putting billions of dollars on the streets of America to upgrade sidewalks, roads, bridges, freeways.
Do you know that over 90 percent of construction companies employ 20 or fewer people? Those are small businesses. Think about — we are putting over a trillion dollars, by my calculation, on the streets of America over the next 10 years to invest in a clean energy economy: adaptation, resilience to clim- — to extreme climate occurrences — federal contracts.
What we are doing with the CHIPS and Science Act — we are investing in semiconductor manufacturing here in the United States because we know — and we learned, if we didn’t know before, during the pandemic — this supply chain thing can really mess you up. And we need domestic production and manufacturing of some of these essential needs.
So, e- — in the last three years, our accomplishments around growing the economy of America in a broad-based economic policy means putting trillions of federal dollars into the economy, which will require, for it to be meaningful, folks to take up those contracts to do the work that is about building up our nation.
So, that’s part of why I’m here, is to ask everyone here: Help me get out the word of what we are doing and that the Small Business Administration, as an example — and we have representatives here; we have the Deputy Secretary of Commerce here, the Deputy Secretary of Treasury here — help get the word out about what is available, because, too often, like I said, Black folks are three times less likely to apply for these things.
But we got to let people know that it’s there so that they will apply and take advantage of what we are doing, including we have finally gotten rid of the prohibition on people with a criminal record being able to apply for SBA loans. We just got rid of that. (Applause.)
So, now, for those who are formerly incarcerated or — or who have a — a conviction for a crime, that will no longer prohibit people from being eligible for small-business loans. Help me get the word out. That’s why I’m here. (Applause.)
MR. HARVEY: Well, that’s good, because might as well be able to get a small-business loan because you can be president too with a criminal record. So — (laughter and applause) — that’s a nice exchange.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.)
MR. HARVEY: Ain’t that about a — (applause) —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: You know, look, I’ve been reading this paper because I got to stay — to the — this is — I got a headache trying to stay on course, so just let me go off this paper for a minute. Before y’all start calling my radio show and DMing me talking about my why you ain’t ask no hard-hitting questions, that ain’t what this is.
I’m throwing a lob. This is a alley-oop for a dunk. Because this administration needs to get the word out of what they actually doing and what they’re actually accomplishing — (applause) — so we can stop all this foolishness about “what you doing for Black people.” Can’t nobody come out with no agenda and call it just for Black people and expect to get in the White House. You got to play the game different. You all know what this is.
So, now, this next question is another lob — (laughter) — for her to dunk, because they done done a lot, man. But we — we — see, I’m on this radio show. I’m hearing all these people talking about, “I’m not voting if they not doing nothing for us.”
Listen to me. If you do not vote, the analytics will show. They know how many women vote, how many me- — they know the age you are when you vote. If we don’t vote, how we going to ask for something next time if you ain’t got no voting power? (Applause.)
You talking about reparations. Ain’t nobody finna give you no reparations and you don’t vote. (Applause.) Oh, what, you think they finna give us some money? No how, man. I hope they do. (Laughter.) They owe us. I’ll go down there. (Laughter and applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.)
MR. HARVEY: I’m sorry. (Laughter.)
Madam V- — (laughs). I know I ain’t coming back next year already. (Laughter.) Appreciate y’all having me.
Madam Vice President, this — another part of this conversation, because it affects us all, is about housing. And another thing that you’ve been involved in over the years has been about housing, and it remains a priority for families all across the country. So, talk more about the work that’s being done to address the obstacles that’s being presented in front of all of us as we try to gain housing.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, you’re right, Steve. I mean, back when I was Attorney General of California, I sued the five biggest banks of the country during the foreclosure crisis. And you’ll remember that a lot of Black families were targeted with those — with those promises of these loans, zero payment down, and people ended up going bankrupt. So, this is something I’ve focused on for a long time.
And here again, let’s look at it through the — the context of obstacles and opportunities.
So, homeownership is probably one of the most effective and efficient and fastest ways to grow intergenerational wealth.
Just think about it in this context. You own a home, and then your child says, you know, “Daddy, I want to go to — to Howard University.”
MR. HARVEY: (Laughs.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes. (Laughter and applause.) And you can say to your child, “Honey, you don’t have to take out some loans to do that. I’ll take some equity out of the house.” Or let’s say your daughter says, “I want to start a small business,” and you can say to your child, “Honey, you don’t have to take out a loan. I will take some equity out of the house to give you some start-up capital.” Intergenerational wealth.
Okay, but that’s a fact. Now, let’s talk about other facts. Let’s talk about — we don’t even need to go as far back as “40 acres and a mule” never happened. Let’s go to the GI Bill.
You know, we just celebrated — we just celebrated D-Day. So, remember the g- — the — we call them the “Greatest Generation,” those mostly men who went to war and put America on the map as a leader around global peace and security.
So, the United States government, in essence, said — the people said, “You are the Greatest Generation. You sacrificed so much. We owe you. And we believe in you.” And there were policies, then, to boost their standing through loans, specific grants given to them to buy homes. So, here was this incredible boost.
Here’s the reality: Black servicemen, because of what we know to be racial bias and racism in the system, did not receive those loans at the same rate. So, where you saw public policy that was about a boost — right? — we — we had disparities before that happened, and then you see the disparities grow even more.
Take into account segregation, redlining, urban renewal — where in so many Black cities, in particular, they would — they would build freeways straight through the neighborhood, which would cut the business community, commerce off from the neighborhoods.
Over and over again, we have seen these inflection points in the history of our country that have set folks back around homeownership. So, one thing that we have to do is speak truth about that.
And the second piece of it, then, is what are we going to do to accommodate the fact that we have far too many folks who — for example, in Black families — there’s no — no history in their immediate family of homeownership. What are we doing to give them a boost?
So, we are proposing a policy, which we are on track to getting done, so that if you are the first generation in your family to go for homeownership, you’ll get a $25,000 credit for down payment. (Applause.) And if you are first in your — in your family, generationally — first-time homeownership — qualify for $400 a month in credits to go toward paying your mortgage. (Applause.)
So, these are some of the issues that we are seeking to address.
There’s another issue. There’s another issue: home appraisals. Again, it’s about speaking truth, right? So — and — and I have to give great credit to the former Secretary of HUD, Marcia Fudge, who we — we worked on this for a while, and so this is where it is.
Home appraisals. How many people here have heard the story about a Black family wants to sell their home or get — maybe get — take out a second mortgage, needs to get the home appraised for its value. And they call in the appraiser. The appraiser comes in and appraises it for a certain number. The family knows that’s too low, so then they get in touch with some friends of the family who are white and say, “Why don’t y’all come over with your — your family pictures.” (Laughter.) “We’ll take ours down. You invite the — an appraiser over.” The house appraises for higher.
Racial bias in home appraisals is a real issue — again, contributing to what we would see, then, in terms of disparities around the ability to accumulate and grow wealth.
So, what we have done is we are now requiring that home appraisers receive racial bias training to address, again, what are these seemingly small issues but are very big issues when you talk about the overall ability of folks to catch up and to build the kind of wealth that we know is — is an entitlement, is a right of every hard-working person.
So, that’s part of what we’re doing on homeownership.
MR. HARVEY: Right. Good. Good. (Applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: I think another important thing to point out from this administration is what’s being done about debt because debt, it — I — look, I got seven kids and — and a — and all of them went to college.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: And they — they were fortunate enough where they didn’t have to deal with that, right?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Right.
MR. HARVEY: But the average person is smothered with this debt.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: That’s right.
MR. HARVEY: They struggling out here with this debt — these medical bills and all like this. Talk to us about what you all’s plan has been and what the administration has done and wants to do pertaining to debt.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, I’ll start with student loan debt. We have now — and anybo- — anybody who has received student loan debt forgiveness, please testify — (laughs) — (applause) — everywhere — (laughs) — everywhere.
We have forgiven over $160 billion of student loan debt — (applause) — for over 5 million Americans. And I — I have to emphasize that was not without a whole lot of people that did not want that to happen. We had to fight to push it through. The courts ruled against us on a part of it, and so we found another way of doing it.
But here’s the thing about student loan debt, especially what we know for our community. The — the — you look at, for example, HBCUs. The — the vast majority of HBCU students are Pell Grant recipients. Folks have to take out these student loans.
And what we have found, especially when I — when I meet, you know, many, many places — many places, many times, people who are public servants — are teachers, are nurses, firefighters — God knows we don’t pay them enough as it is. And so, what we are doing — (applause) — is we are forgiving student loan debt and, for our public servants, doubling the amount of student loan debt that we are forgiving.
Here’s what I want to ask the leaders in the room in terms of helping get the word out. Please help people know this: You can qualify for student loan debt even if you did not graduate. Help get the word out. (Applause.)
And, again, it’s about the logic — but it’s about the logic behind it. It’s just about the logic behind it. Here’s the thing. So, most people — many people leave college, drop out because they can’t afford it. But the loan is still due. So, we are forgiving student loan debt, including for people who did not graduate because we understand the nature of the problem, and we’re trying to fix it.
Medical debt. Medical debt, for the most part, comes about because of a medical emergency. It is something folks don’t plan for. It’s certainly not something people want. And what ends up happening is people then accumulate all these medical bills and it sets them back.
As it is, think about the nature of — of the person we’re talking about. They’re going through health issues. It probably means they’re losing time from work. It probably means they’re struggling in many ways because of their health issue.
And this medical debt currently gets counted — has been, forever — counted against their credit score. We have made it so that now medical debt cannot be counted in your credit score. (Applause.) That’s a big issue. Because, you know, folks know — you know your credit score like you know your weight. You know that number. (Laughs.)
MR. HARVEY: (Laughs.) Yeah.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: People can — I’m sure if you say, “Neighbor, what’s your credit score,” they probably know, right?
And so, what we are doing is — is, again, addressing the realities of what holds people back and weighs them down. Right? When we talk about the need for people to have access to economic opportunity, we have to take into account what holds people back. Because we don’t lack for hard work, work ethic, good ideas, ambition, aspiration, but there are obstacles built into the system that have to be addressed to give people the opportunity.
And it’s not about a handout. It’s about saying give people the opportunity to compete; give hardworking people the opportunity to get ahead and not just get by. That’s what this is about. (Applause.)
MR. HARVEY: Wow, that’s good. Medical debt relief.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: Emergency medical debt relief. Real medical, not liposuction and — (laughter) — BBLs. You got that chest, you on your own with that. Don’t go down there and fill out the paper and think they going to pay for that. It’s probably not going to happen. (Laughter.)
I got to — (laughs) — look, I — I can only be me. I apologize. (Laughter.) I’m going to give myself a round of applause because — (applause) — I’ve never sat on the stage this long with a microphone and done this little bit of talking right here.
But it’s actually been informative to me, I got to tell you. But normally, I would have interrupted you by now because I would have been bored out of my mind.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) No, I’m very impressed with your — your —
MR. HARVEY: You like this?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes, I’m very impressed.
MR. HARVEY: I — I look like Gayle King, don’t I? (Laughter.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I’m very impressed. (Laughs.)
MR. HARVEY: All I got to do is say something controversial, and I’m Gayle King up in here. (Laughter.)
Listen — (laughs) — I — I’m glad you asked me to do this, you know, because we’ve talked many times.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And I’m so glad you’ve made the time to do it, Steve. Thank you.
MR. HARVEY: Yeah, and I was telling the audience I came from my ranch.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: And you’re very aware of this.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: And you going to help me now because you introduced me to one of your key people back there.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
MR. HARVEY: I’m tr- — I’m in the lifesaving business.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I know.
MR. HARVEY: I’m 40 miles up the road from Camp Grace, who’s in the soul-saving business. They require that you come down there and you get saved and you get filled with the Holy Ghost. And I told that dude that ain’t — I’m in the lifesaving business. (Laughter.) I’m — I’m trying to get to heaven myself. I ain’t a shoo-in right now. I’ve got — (laughter) — when I get to the gate, I’m going to have to have a conversation, I’m pretty sure, about some stuff I said and did.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.)
MR. HARVEY: I still gamble a little bit. (Laughter.) But I only go to Vegas as a Christian, because sometimes — (laughter) — I try to win my tithes. (Laughter.) You know, I don’t want to just pay up. (Laughter.)
Listen, before we get out of here, I wanted to say this to you. Madam Vice President, we got a room full of incredible leaders out here. I mean, I feel so honored to be here. And there’s so many young, brilliant minds in this room. What advice would you leave us today, moving forward?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, in particular, to the young leaders, I’d say a couple of things.
One, you must dream with ambition. Your ambition is a good thing. It’s good to have ambition. Don’t ever let anybody tell you you should not have ambition and aspirations. You must have and know that you are applauded for having the ability to see what can be, unburdened by what has been.
And don’t ever hear it when somebody says to you, “Oh, nobody like you has done that before; oh, it’s not your time; oh, you’re too young; oh” — and then this is one I love — “Oh, it’s going to be hard work.”
MR. HARVEY: (Laughs.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Don’t you ever listen to that. I like to say, I eat “no” for breakfast. I don’t hear “no.” And don’t you, either. (Applause.)
The other point I would make is this. And certainly the leaders in this room know the experience that I will now describe. But to the young leaders, I will say, you’re going to, in many times in your life, find that you are in a room — be it a board room, a meeting room — where you’re the only one that looks like you. And I want you to hold in your heart and in your mind the image of what you see right now and in this room to know that when you are in those rooms, we are all in that room with you, expecting you will walk in that room with your chin up, your shoulders back, carrying the voice that we expect you to use in that room.
And know you are always applauded for being there. Don’t ever let a circumstance or situation or person make you feel alone. We are all there with you. (Applause.) And that’s the beauty of what 100 Black Men does as an organization.
And so, these are the things that you must remember in life. And you must always know how celebrated you are and how special you are and how much you have to give our country. We need you.
To the young leaders, I started, Steve, as you said, a — a college tour last fall. I’m going to tell you, I love Gen Z. I really do.
Think — now, I’m going to say to the older adults: You know that if someone is 18 today — this is humbling — you know what year they were born? 2006. (Laughs.) Uh-huh. Deal with that. (Laughter.)
But think about Gen Z and our younger leaders. They’ve only known the climate crisis. They have actually coined a term, “climate anxiety,” to describe their concern about having children one day or — or owning a home for fear of what extreme weather might do to — to wipe it out.
They witnessed the killing of George Floyd.
They went through a pandemic and lost significant pieces of their education and socialization process.
During the height of their reproductive years, the highest court in the land — the court of Thurgood — just took a constitutional right from them so that our daughters will know fewer rights than their grandmothers.
And — and I would ask them, Steve, everywhere I went, and it was always a packed room with an overflow room — I’d ask the — the students, the young leaders: Raise your hand if at any point between kindergarten and 12th grade you had to endure an active shooter drill. And almost every hand went up. It was bone-chilling.
This one younger student said to me, “Yeah” — on — on this subject — “that’s why I don’t like going to fifth period.” I said, “Why, baby? Why don’t you want to go to fifth period?” “Because in that classroom, there’s no closet to hide in.”
On some of the biggest issues facing our country today and up in November, when these young leaders start voting in their numbers, I see a sea change, because they’re not playing around. This is not intellectual. This is not academic for them. It’s a lived experience.
And so, I say to the young leaders, then, with that point, you were born leaders. And if you’re in this room, it’s because you have chosen to be a leader. And just keep leading, because we need you. We need you. (Applause.)
MR. HARVEY: Well, we’ve come to the end. This clock is at zero. I did what I said I was going to do. Your Secret Service, all of them got guns. (Laughter.) And they had me in the room by theyself, and they said, “When that clock hits zero, you must be through.” So, y’all can put them safeties back on your pistols — (laughter) — because I’ve completed my task.
Listen, I was — I’ve been in rooms like this before. The vibe in here is incredible. I’m proud to be one of you. I love Black people. (Applause.) I’m proud when I see Black people. I’m about the uplift and edification of Black people.
This administration has done so many things that can affect our community. They just can’t label it “Black.” So, please quit tripping. When we get up to November, we’ve got to get to these polls, because this other group talking about “Make America Great Again” — I don’t know when it was supposed to be great for us, but when you start taking Black history out of schools and you start getting rid of diversity, inclusion — (applause) — I got a real feeling of what they think America would look great again.
We have got to get to the polls. And this is the ticket we need to punch it for: It’s the Harris-Biden ticket. And I think that’s what we need to do.
Thank you all for having me.
Ladies and gentlemen, Madam Vice President Kamala Harris. Yeah! (Applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We’re going to take a selfie. So, everybody smile, and we’re going to take a selfie with Steve’s phone.
And just remember, on Juneteenth, however you celebrate Juneteenth in five days, I’m going to call to action that everyone also think about how you’ll register people to vote on Juneteenth.
All right.
END 2:09 P.M. EDT
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