Harris campaign lists policies on eve of debate after criticism of vagueness | US elections 2024

Kamala Harris' presidential campaign team has released a list of her policy positions on its website less than 48 hours before her debate against Donald Trump on Tuesday. Critics had previously called her policy proposals vague and thin since the Democratic candidate launched her campaign for the White House in July.

The move by Harris' campaign team came as she and the former Republican president enter the final weeks of the Nov. 5 election – and new polls released Sunday showed the candidates in a neck-and-neck race. The vice president had initially gained a significant lead over Trump after replacing Joe Biden at the top of her party's presidential nomination.

A national poll by the New York Times and Siena College released Sunday showed Trump with one percentage point more votes than Harris, noting that many voters wanted to learn more about the vice president's policies.

Another poll conducted by CBS/YouGov indicated a neck-and-neck race in the key swing states: Harris narrowly led in Michigan and Wisconsin, but was tied in Pennsylvania.

By Sunday evening, the Harris team had published a list of policy positions on its website, divided into four main sections, focusing on the economy, “fundamental freedoms,” safety and crime, and national security.

The campaign promised to build “an economy of opportunity and lower costs for families” and implement economic proposals such as tax cuts for the middle class, as well as making rent more affordable and homeownership more attainable by providing first-time buyers with up to $25,000 in down payment assistance.

In her list of proposals, Harris also said she would work to make child care more affordable, strengthen Social Security and support small businesses by increasing the tax deduction for startup costs for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000.

Harris promised to cut health care costs, raise the minimum wage, eliminate the tax on tips for service and restaurant workers, and crack down on the competitive practices of large corporations.

Her campaign said she would block any national abortion ban, and if Congress passed a bill to restore reproductive freedom across the country, Harris would sign it. She also plans to enshrine anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Americans in health care, housing, education and more, the website said.

On the border, the campaign said Harris would reintroduce and sign a bipartisan border security bill after it was blocked by Republicans earlier this year to deny Biden a victory in the House when he was still planning to run for re-election. Harris understands the need for “strong border security and an earned path to citizenship,” the website said.

On gun violence and crime, the campaign said that if elected president, Harris would ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, require universal background checks and support red flag laws. She would also continue to “invest in funding law enforcement, including hiring and training officers and those who support them,” it added.

Harris is committed to ending the opioid epidemic and fighting fentanyl, the campaign said, adding that the bipartisan border bill she plans to sign includes funding for detection technologies to intercept even more illegal drugs.

On foreign policy and national security, Harris pledged to stand with U.S. allies, stand up to dictators, “lead on the world stage,” and ensure that “America, not China, wins the competition of the 21st century and that we strengthen, not abandon, our global leadership.” She added that she would invest in American workers, innovation and industry.

The list of policy proposals also mentions Israel's war in Gaza. Harris said she will “always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, and she will always make sure that Israel has the ability to defend itself.”

The website said she and Biden – who ended his re-election campaign on July 21 – would “work to end the war in Gaza so that Israel is safe, … hostages are released, suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

At the end of each policy section on the website, the Harris team compared their positions with “Project 2025” – a conservative roadmap for a second Trump term written by the Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank.

Among other things, the 2025 Project called for the abolition of the Ministry of Education and the dismantling of environmental protections and LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights.

Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025 after facing criticism and backlash that the group's proposals were too right-wing. But many of the authors and groups behind the project have ties to Trump – and many of the policy goals align with those Trump hopes to achieve if he wins the election in November.