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What we know — and don’t know — about the Harris policy agenda
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By the time most presidential nominees reach the stage at their parties’ national conventions, they’ve usually spent months hammering out their policy priorities.
But Vice President Harris only began her race on July 21, when President Biden stepped aside and passed her the torch.
While Democrats have been thrilled with the fresh energy Harris has brought to the race, her campaign speeches to date have been long on vibes and short on actual platforms. Many of her positions are based on proposals originally made by Biden that he and Democrats were unable to get through Congress.
As the Democratic National Convention gets underway this week, here are some highlights of what she’s said so far about what she would do if she wins in November.
The economy
Harris gave her first major policy speech on what she would do to address the high costs of housing, groceries, health care and raising kids. Her proposals include:
- Tax breaks for homebuilders with the goal of building 3 million new housing units in four years
- Up to $25,000 in down-payment aid for first-time homebuyers
- Up to $6,000 for low- and middle-income families with new babies
- Up to $3,600 per child per year in an expanded child tax credit
- A ban on price gouging in the food sector, singling out meat prices in particular
- Work with states to ban the use of medical debt in credit scores
In other campaign speeches, Harris has said she would:
- Ban hidden bank fees
- Hike the minimum wage
- Ban taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers
- Support affordable child care and paid family leave
So far, there have been few details on:
- The overall costs of these new measures
- Whether Harris would raise taxes or cut other spending to pay for them
- Who would qualify for the various incentives
The Harris campaign told Politico that she would not raise taxes on people making less than $400,000 per year.
Reproductive rights
After the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022, Harris became the administration’s leading voice on restoring protections for abortion rights. She has urged Congress to pass legislation to codify Roe protections and said she would sign it into law.
Health care
Harris has backed Biden administration efforts to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for seniors on Medicare. She has said she would accelerate those talks with pharmaceutical companies. Like Biden, Harris has vowed to try to:
- Cap the price of insulin at $35 for everyone, not just seniors
- Cap out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs at $2,000 per year for everyone
Immigration
Harris has said she backs comprehensive immigration reform with “an earned pathway to citizenship” but she has not spelled out the details.
Her campaign ads say Harris would hire thousands of border agents, use technology to crack down on fentanyl and increase funding to stop human trafficking.
She has said she would urge the Senate to revive a bipartisan border security bill that Republicans balked at earlier this year at the urging of former President Donald Trump. That bill would give her the power to shut the border to migrants under certain conditions and would establish changes to the asylum process.
More domestic policy
- Harris has promised to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, both of which have stalled in Congress.
- She has said she would address gun violence by urging Congress to pass universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapons ban.
Foreign policy
Harris has not yet given a major foreign policy address. But she gave extensive remarks after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month, where she said she would “not be silent” about the toll Israel’s war on Hamas has taken on Palestinian civilians in Gaza, even as she made clear she supports Israel’s right to defend itself.
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