United States Capitol
Washington, D.C.

Q    Madam Vice President, what options do Democrats have left on voting rights?  It’s clear that Republicans are not going to support this.
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, let’s start with what just happened, which is the United States Senate and members of the United States Senate had an opportunity to uphold the importance of every American’s right to exercise their fundamental right in a democracy, which is the right to vote. 
 
And when presented with this opportunity, the Democrats unanimously upheld the importance of that right, and the Republicans, sadly, unanimously failed to do so.  So, we’re not going to give up.  We’re not deterred.  But there’s still a lot of work to do.
 
And I think it’s really a sad day.  I thought that Senator Schumer, the majority leader, he spoke well in reminding us of America’s history.  And sadly, we have seen these moments before.  I’d like to think that we have evolved as a nation and that we would not have to return to a moment where the United States Senate would have to debate yet, in this situation, fail, as a body, to even move forward protections as it relates to the right to vote.
 
So, we’re not going to give up.  We have never given up, those of us who have fought for the right of every American to be able to express their voice for their vote.  We’re going to continue to do the work.
 
Q    Can you get a framework done for Build Back Better by next week?  And do you think that it’s possible to actually get your party together, who is very divided on what the — what should the scope of this bill should be?
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, I don’t have an exact timeframe, but I will tell you that I think all of us agree that we need to get this done.  And we’re working out the details. 
 
Yesterday, the President and I had some very, I think, productive meetings, candid meetings with members of the Democratic Caucus, both on the House and the Senate side.  And I think there’s a meeting of minds in general about what we need to accomplish, but the details have to be worked out.
 
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