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Kamala Harris is laying out her economic agenda if she wins the election in November with a broad set of priorities ranging from from affordable housing to family planning to addressing prescription drug costs.
The Democratic presidential candidate is calling for $6,000 for newborns and expanded child tax credits, $25,000 down payments for some first-time homebuyers, medical debt relief and other measures for her first 100 days in office.
It is the first time the vice president has outlined her own priorities and diverged from the Biden administration since President Biden’s exit from the presidential race last month.
The Democratic presidential candidate will lay out the proposals in her first policy speech focused on the economy and cutting costs for American families during a visit to the battleground state of North Carolina on Friday.
Kamala Harris will deliver her first policy speech, which will focus on the economy, during a visit to Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday. Ahead of the speech, Harris’ campaign unveiled a set of economic proposals that the vice president would focus on in her first 100 days in office if elected.
While some of the proposals remain short on details and would face an uphill battle in Congress, here’s what’s included on Harris’ economic wish list so far:
Tax credits for children
The Vice President is calling for a new $6,000 Child Tax Credit for families with a new baby, in addition to expanding the current Child Tax Credit.
Newborn tax credits would be aimed at helping low- and middle-income families in the first year of their baby’s life with the costs of everything from cribs to parental time off work to care for the baby.
Harris also calls for the return of the expanded Child Tax Credit that was passed in the American Rescue Plan in 2021 but expired the following year. It provided up to $3,600 per child for eligible families, depending on their income and the ages of the children.
Harris is calling for a $6,000 per child tax credit for newborns and expanding the current Child Tax Credit to American Rescue Plan levels for eligible families.
The vice president also wants to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, a long-time priority for Democrats, for workers in low-wage jobs by up to $1,500.
Before dropping out of the presidential race, President Biden promised not to raise taxes on households earning less than $400,000 a year. It’s a promise the vice president also wants to keep as a candidate, but it would involve reaching a deal with Republicans in Congress to address some of the provisions of Trump’s tax law that are set to expire at the end of next year.
Housing accessibility and mortgage loans
As Americans struggle with rising housing costs and can’t afford their first home, Harris calls for up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for some first-time homebuyers.
This comes after the Biden administration first called for $25,000 in down payment assistance for 400,000 first-generation homebuyers and a $10,000 tax credit for first-time buyers.
Harris’ plan would expand assistance to all eligible first-time homebuyers. These buyers include families who have paid rent on time for two years, and more support would be offered to first-generation homeowners. According to her campaign, it would allow more than four million first-time buyers in four years to receive an average of $25,000 in assistance for their first home.
Kamala Harris wants to provide up to $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers and calls for the construction of three million new housing units over four years
The vice president is also calling for the construction of three million new housing units in her first four years in office if elected to address the housing shortage and affordability crisis. This is an increase from the two million new units called for by the Biden administration.
He also wants a first-time tax incentive for homebuilders to build starter homes sold to first-time buyers, expanding existing incentives for companies that build rental housing, and the creation of a $40 billion innovation fund to help local governments find local housing solutions.
The vice president would also push Congress to pass legislation to crack down on big corporations that drive up rent and on some Wall Street investors who buy up homes in bulk, according to the campaign.
Limiting prescription drug costs
Harris is calling for capping the cost of insulin and prescription drugs at $2,000 for everyone. It would be an extension of steps taken under the Biden administration to cap such costs for seniors starting next year.
The vice president also wants to speed up Medicare negotiations on prescription drug costs, building on steps already taken by the Biden administration. She calls for more transparency in the health care industry and promises to work with states to cancel medical debt if elected.
How to deal with rising food prices
Harris wants the first federal ban on corporate price gouging, which her campaign says would help address rising food costs. inflation has persisted for much of the past four years.
While it’s not exactly clear how the proposal would be implemented, the campaign said the plan would “set clear rules” so corporations “cannot unfairly exploit consumers” and would give consumers the ability to reap benefits. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general have the ability to investigate the food industry and impose “severe penalties” on corporations that break the rules.
The Democratic presidential candidate is calling for the first-ever federal ban on price gouging to address high food prices, but economists warn it won’t bring food costs back to pre-pandemic levels.
The proposals would also end mergers of large food corporations that would allow companies to raise food prices and undermine competition, the campaign said.
Such a measure has been promoted by sSome progressive groups accuse big business of taking advantage of the pandemic and supply chain challenges to raise prices.But other economists have been reluctant to blame corporate greed for price increases and argue that a ban on price gouging would not reduce food costs.