In the midst of a presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris, a politician often criticized for her lack of charisma and controversial record, has made a bold move.
She has pledged to implement two policies that were previously scrapped from President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act due to Congressional concerns over the cost: paid family leave and government-funded child care.
"Every person should have access to paid family leave and affordable child care," Harris declared during a speech to her campaign staff in Delaware. This marked the official commencement of her presidential campaign, which was initially Biden's reelection effort. Harris' agenda also includes promises to strengthen the middle class, safeguard seniors, and ensure affordable healthcare for Americans. However, her emphasis on family leave and child care is particularly significant, as it indicates her intention to position herself as more economically progressive than Biden.
The original Inflation Reduction Act, previously known as Biden's "Build Back Better" initiative, was a $4 trillion spending package. It included $585 billion for various family and child programs, such as a four-week paid family and medical leave program and a new child care subsidy program. However, these provisions were removed due to opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) and other Senate Democrats who were hesitant to approve such a large spending plan amidst rising inflation and deficits.
According to Reason.com, these initiatives are likely to be central to Harris' campaign, especially as she seeks to gain support from the progressive left. This strategy appears to be a repetition of her 2019 primary campaign, where she leaned heavily to the left on economic issues to distance herself from her record as a prosecutor and attorney general.
During her 2019 campaign, Harris proposed offering parents and caregivers up to six months of paid leave from work. This plan was more radical than those proposed by other Democrats, and even left-leaning publications questioned its political and economic viability.
Although Harris withdrew from the 2019 campaign before any votes were cast, she has now emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee following Biden's unexpected exit from the race. This places her in a position to promote a proposal that was previously rejected by Democratic primary voters in 2020 and by Congress in 2022 when the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.
Harris has also expressed her willingness to take drastic measures to push her agenda through Congress. In 2019, she advocated for ending the filibuster to pass the Green New Deal. This approach is expected to continue, with reporter Jordan Weissman noting that while Harris' policies may not deviate significantly from Biden's, she could be more aggressive in her tactics.
If Harris does indeed lean further left on economic issues, voters will face a choice between a Republican Party that seeks to interfere more in personal and business affairs, and a Democratic nominee who is eager to borrow and spend more aggressively. The latter is also unwilling to accept the Senate's lack of votes for her agenda as a final answer. This scenario presents a challenging choice for voters and a potential turning point for American politics.
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