VERIFYING claims from Kamala Harris’ NABJ interview

Vice President Kamala Harris met with the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia Tuesday for an interview covering her work as vice president and her plans for the White House if she’s elected.

We VERIFIED claims made by Harris during the interview.

THE CLAIM

 "We came in under the worst unemployment since the Great Depression."

THE SOURCES

WHAT WE FOUND

While the unemployment rate did hit a post-Depression high of 14.8% during Trump’s presidency, it was actually in April 2020, during the early months of the pandemic.

In January 2021, when President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office, the unemployment rate was 6.4%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

THE CLAIM

 "We have done the work of capping the cost of prescription medication for our seniors for issues like insulin."

THE SOURCES

WHAT WE FOUND

The Biden-Harris administration did institute $35 insulin caps, but the program was initially introduced by Donald Trump when he was president.

Trump signed an executive order in July 2020 that established the Part D Savings Program Model, which temporarily lowered the monthly insulin cost to $35 for some Medicare patients who were enrolled in optional Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. This was in effect from 2021 until 2023. 

In August 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. This act permanently lowered the monthly insulin cost to $35 for Part D members and expanded the program to include people on the optional Medicare Part B plan too. 

This expansion made over 3.3 million Medicare patients who take insulin eligible for the $35 cap, compared to the 800,000 who were eligible under Trump’s plan, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.