CNN
—
As Kamala Harris As she prepares to run for president against President Donald Trump, she will need to tell voters how she plans to steer the economy and address genuine public concerns about rising prices in recent years.
The vice president has been a loyal voice in President Joe Biden’s policies for the past four years, but he has previously advocated for more progressive positions on health care, taxes and other issues and will have to decide whether to return to his roots.
A look at the proposals she put forward during her 2020 presidential nomination race (when Biden advocated for a more moderate position) and as a senator could provide some insight into her potential policies in 2024.
Harris is the U.S. Government-sponsored health insurance schemes But he did not want to completely eliminate private insurance during the 2020 campaign, a proposal more to the left than that proposed by Biden, who wants to build on Obamacare. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All Planis a bill she co-sponsored while in the Senate. Her two rivals have criticized her idea, and the Biden campaign has called it a “take-all approach.”
Harris’ bill calls for a 10-year transition to a Medicare-for-all type system, but would still allow private insurers to offer Medicare plans.
The proposal also would not raise taxes on the middle class to pay for the coverage expansion, a contrast to Sanders’ plan, and would instead raise the necessary funds by taxing Wall Street trades and transactions and changing taxes on foreign corporate income.
The Biden administration, working with congressional Democrats, temporarily expanded access to health insurance. Strengthening Federal Insurance Subsidies His support for Obamacare led to the lowest uninsured rate on record during his term.
But the enhanced subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025, so the next president and Congress must decide what to do with the extension, which could cost about $335 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Harris He took on the lead role She has been a vocal advocate for abortion rights for the administration since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. In January, she said:Reproductive Freedom ToursThe visit to Minnesota is expected to be the first time a sitting U.S. president or vice president visits multiple states. Abortion Clinic.
When it comes to abortion access, Harris also adopted a more progressive platform than Biden during the 2020 campaign. Criticize His previous endorsements Hyde AmendmentThe bill would block federal funding from being used to pay for most abortions.
Policy experts say Harris’ current policies on abortion and reproductive rights may not be all that different from Biden’s, but as a result of her national tour and her own policy focus; Maternal healthShe may be a stronger messenger.
“Part of the White House’s role on abortion policy is to have influence,” said Kelly Burden, vice president of public policy at the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health that supports abortion rights. “Having someone who is comfortable with a strong message on abortion justice and whose values are aligned could be a change that we see in the Harris and Biden administrations.”
Baden also said Harris’ conversations with abortion patients, health care workers and state lawmakers during this year’s tour “gives us a much more informed perspective on what we need in abortion policy in the world right now,” and concluded that Harris may make the issue a high priority.
As a Senator, Harris will serve the middle class and working families. Refundable tax credits It would provide each couple with up to $6,000 a year to cover living expenses, a measure that would cost an estimated $3 trillion over 10 years.
Unlike regular tax credits, the bill would allow taxpayers to receive up to $500 a month in benefits, preventing families from having to turn to high-interest payday loans.
Harris also campaigned on the bill, titled the “LIFT Middle Class Act,” during the previous presidential election.
Many American families are struggling to pay the rising cost of living caused by runaway inflation a decade ago and continuing to rise today, and they generally give low marks to the Biden administration’s policies. Dealing with the economyThe campaign has struggled to change that, despite repeated efforts by the campaign to show how the president has worked to cut costs and help ordinary people.
One of the most commonly used indicators is Expanding the Child Tax Credit The scheme, which provides certain families with up to $3,600 per child, some of which is available in monthly payments, only went into effect in 2021.
As a presidential candidate, Harris also proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 35%, but it was lowered to 21% before Trump and Republicans pushed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through Congress in 2017. Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28%.
Harris will likely pursue a similar policy of raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations to provide relief to middle- and working-class Americans, but she may modify it slightly.
“Harris will likely bring her own spin to these ideas, just as she did in the Raise the Middle Class Act of 2019,” John Gimiliano, a principal in KPMG’s tax practice in Washington, said in a statement, adding that a key factor will be who Harris picks for Treasury secretary if she wins the election.
Harris has plenty of ideas for how to reduce drug costs, a major health care headache for Americans and a topic of discussion for many presidential candidates, including Biden and Trump.
Harris’ plan, titled “People Over Profits,” contains provisions similar to Sanders’ bill, and some of its concepts were included in the Stop Inflation Act pushed through Congress by Democrats in 2022, such as penalizing drug companies that raise prices faster than the rate of inflation.
like TrumpHarris proposed allowing the federal government to set “fair prices” for drugs that are sold cheaper in economically comparable countries, such as Canada, the UK, France, Japan or Australia. If a drug company is found to be price gouging, the government could import the drug from overseas or, in egregious cases, use existing but unused “march-in” powers to license the company’s patents to rival companies that make the drug at a lower cost.
As California’s attorney general, Harris worked with other states to sue multiple pharmaceutical companies over pricing and practices, winning multimillion-dollar settlements.
As a senator, Harris introduced the Rent Relief Act, which would create a refundable tax credit for renters who spend more than 30% of their annual gross income on rent and utilities. The credit amount would range from 25% to 100% of excess rent, depending on the renter’s income.
Harris has called housing a human right and said in a 2019 news release about the bill that every American deserves basic safety and dignity in their own home.
The Biden administration has increasingly focused on helping people with high housing costs. Earlier this month, Biden A series of proposals These include eliminating tax credits for landlords who raise rents by more than 5 percent a year and having a federal agency evaluate whether surplus federal land could be used to build affordable housing. Home loan deduction The plan would provide middle-class first-time home buyers with $5,000 a year for two years.
