Delegates Kathy Tran and Irene Shin, Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi, and Local Small Business Owners and Community Leaders Highlight VP Harris Plan to Lower Costs and Uplift AANHPI Community at Economic Roundtable

On Wednesday, October 9, Kathy Tran, House of Delegates Democratic Caucus Chair and former Chair of the Virginia Asian American & Pacific Islander Caucus; Irene Shin, House of Delegates Chair of the Virginia Asian American & Pacific Islander Caucus; and Letty Hardi, Mayor of Falls Church, hosted an economic roundtable with local community leaders and business owners to highlight Vice President Kamala Harris’ New Way Forward to lower costs for Virginians, support minority-owned businesses, and boost our economy.

In stark contrast, Donald Trump and JD Vance’s Project 2025 agenda will give Trump unprecedented, unchecked power to put billionaires and corporations ahead of small businesses, raise costs by nearly $4,000 a year for Virginians, and enact his extreme and dangerous agenda on climate, health care, and education.

“What’s at stake in this election is so clear. There are two very different versions of America that are being put forward, and I think the one that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and Democrats up and down the ballot are really standing for is an America that is welcoming, is inclusive, is just and fair, and that recognizes, when one community succeeds, we all succeed,” said Delegate Kathy Tran, House of Delegates Democratic Caucus Chair and former Chair of the Virginia Asian American & Pacific Islander Caucus. “It’s an America that is hopeful, that is joyful, and that has a place for each of us around the table and our allies too.”

“I wanted to raise just a point about what [Trump’s] vision for the future looks like. And I think that for me, that blueprint was laid out pretty clearly in Project 2025, which is Trump’s plan for a second term about how to break apart the systems that we’ve built and the institutions that we trust,” said Delegate Irene Shin, House of Delegates Chair of the Virginia Asian American & Pacific Islander Caucus. “We have a blueprint for where [Trump] wants to take us. And on the flip side, we have a vision from Harris and Walz who have put forward ideas for more investments and policies to make sure our communities are protected.”