CONCORD, N.H. — First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Concord, New Hampshire, on Wednesday as part of the administration’s “Help is Here” tour.
Ahead of the trip, the White House said the first lady’s trip will “underscored how the [American] Rescue Plan provides $130 billion to help schools reopen,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a briefing Monday.
She visited the Christa McAuliffe School in Concord and was joined by Christa McAuliffe's family. McAuliffe was an American teacher from Concord, who was one of seven crew members killed in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
The White House Office of the First Lady said Wednesday that she will "pay tribute to Christa McAuliffe in honor of women’s history month with McAuliffe’s family."
In the hallway of the school before delivering her remarks, the first lady gave a "big hug" to Christa's widow, Judge Steven McAuliffe, according to pool press reports. Steven's been a close friend of the Bidens for 30-plus years.
The first lady discussed how the American Rescue Plan will help achieve the goal to open the majority of K-8 schools within the first 100 days of President Joe Biden's administration.
“I’m here to say help is on the way!” the first lady said in her speech to those in attendance at the school. “[...] For many, this is going to be the difference between putting food on the table and going hungry.”
Watch a stream of her visit here:
In addition to the first lady, the president, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will also take part in the cross-country tour this week to highlight the benefits of the $1.9 trillion plan to defeat the coronavirus and boost the economy.
The tour kicked off Monday with Harris heading to a COVID-19 vaccination site and a culinary academy in Las Vegas and Jill Biden touring a New Jersey elementary school.
The president, meanwhile, will travel to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesdays before heading to Atlanta with Harris on Friday. The tour will take Emhoff to Albuquerque, New Mexico on Wednesday.
The stops at vaccination sites, businesses, schools, and more are meant to educate the public about different aspects of the giant American Rescue Plan and how it will help people get to the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.
During the press briefing on Monday, Psaki said the focus of the tour is to take time “to engage directly with the American people and make sure they understand the benefits of the package, how they can benefit from the package; and how it's going to help them get through this difficult period of time, and our economic recovery.”
“We recognize that signing the bill is just a first step,” she continued. “And getting the money out the door, ensuring people know how they can benefit, how it will help their local communities is an important part as well.”
The White House has detailed a theme for each day, scheduling a focus on small businesses, schools, warding off evictions, and direct checks. Jill Biden was joined by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on a tour Monday of Samuel Smith Elementary School in Burlington, where she talked about how the plan will help families and communities, and highlight steps the school took to reopen.
The first lady has kept a robust schedule focused on education, military families, and cancer research since stepping into her new role. Earlier this month, she and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona visited Connecticut and Pennsylvania public schools that reopened during the pandemic.