WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris unveiled her first detailed economic policy proposal on Friday, outlining how she would curb rent increases, increase the number of first-time home buyers, end price gouging in grocery stores and increase the child tax credit.
The Harris campaign statement said the proposals, most of which require congressional approval, would “address some of the biggest problems facing American families and strengthen their financial security.”
“Vice President Harris has made clear that building the middle class will be a critical goal of her presidency,” the announcement said. “She will deliver for Americans who demand a new path to a future that works for all Americans, so they can not just get by, but get ahead.”
Harris will campaign later on Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, ahead of the Democratic Party convention that begins on Monday, with both campaigns focusing on a handful of swing states.
The economic core of their plan aims to reduce the expenses often associated with starting a family by increasing the child tax credit to the $3,600 per child that existed under the COVID-19 spending bill that Democrats passed in the first months of the Biden administration, a provision that has since expired.
Harris proposes increasing this credit to $6,000 for families with children under one year of age.
The maximum child tax credit is currently $2,000 per qualifying child for an individual with annual income of less than $200,000 or for a couple filing jointly with income of less than $400,000.
There are several Qualifications To qualify for the child tax credit, you must, among other things, demonstrate that the child was under 17 years ancient at the end of the year and is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien.
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will be expanded “to cover lower-income individuals and couples who are not raising a child at home, providing them with a tax relief of up to $1,500,” the announcement said.
Harris also promised that no one earning less than $400,000 a year would face a tax increase, echoing a promise President Joe Biden has made throughout his time in the Oval Office.
Extortionate prices in the food trade
The proposal states that if elected, Harris will work to pass legislation in Congress banning price gouging on food and other food products and establishing “rules of the road” to prevent companies from making “excessive profits on food and food products.”
Rising food prices are a major pain point for consumers, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday made the case Republicans claim that prices are too high for American families. They blame the Biden-Harris administration for inflation and insist that only he has the power to bring prices down again.
To implement her plan to combat profiteering in the grocery trade, Harris proposes giving the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general novel powers to “impose tough new penalties” on companies that charge extortionate prices.
“Many large grocery chains have kept their prices high despite stable production costs and achieved their highest profits in two decades,” the proposal states. “While some grocery companies have passed on these savings, others have not yet done so.”
“Price fluctuations are normal in free markets, but Vice President Harris recognizes that there is a big difference between fair prices and the inflated, cost-insensitive prices that Americans have experienced in the food and grocery industry,” it said.
A Harris administration would also address “unfair mergers and acquisitions” that could contribute to higher food and grocery prices, Harris’ plan says.
Expansion of drug price controls
Harris hopes to extend the price cap on insulin that Democrats set in their main climate, health and tax package, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
This section of the law, which applies only to Medicare, limits the price of insulin per month for $35. Harris’ proposal would extend this to “everyone” while setting the maximum out-of-pocket cost for other prescriptions at $2,000.
The plan would increase the speed at which Medicare can negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will also work with states to cancel the medical debt of millions of Americans and help them avoid such debt in the future. Because no one should have to go bankrupt just because they were unlucky enough to get sick or injured,” the proposal states.
Promote housing construction
The economic plan published on Friday includes numerous changes that could mitigate the rising costs of renting and buying a home for the first time.
Harris wants to boost housing construction across the country by three million units over the next four years by “removing barriers to new housing construction, including at the state and local levels.”
A Harris-Waltz administration would ask Congress to create tax incentives for builders that build “starter homes” that are then sold to first-time buyers.
The announcement states that the novel tax incentive would “complement the Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit, which encourages investments in homes that would otherwise be too expensive or difficult to build or rehabilitate.”
Harris’ proposal would provide a down payment of up to $25,000 for first-time homebuyers who have paid their rent on time for at least two years.
The proposal states that, if implemented, financial support in the form of an advance payment would benefit more than four million people over a period of four years.
Harris also urged lawmakers to address rising rents by approving two bills that had been introduced in Congress but had so far failed to gain traction.
One The invoice would reduce the incentive for huge companies to buy more than 50 single-family homes for rent. The legislation would prohibit these companies from “deducting interest or depreciation on these properties,” according to a Summary the measure.
The second rent proposal calls on Congress to The invoice This would “crack down on companies that help landlords raise rents in already expensive markets,” it says in a Summary.
“Vice President Harris knows that our nation’s housing crisis is making it difficult for millions of Americans to make ends meet, while the American dream of homeownership remains out of reach for too many working families,” the proposal states. “That’s why she will urgently launch a comprehensive four-year plan to lower housing costs for working families and end America’s housing shortage.”
The Harris-Walz campaign team also announced on Friday that the election results take a bus trip in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area on Sunday, shortly before the Democratic Party Convention.
Harris, her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz will all take part in the tour of Allegheny and Beaver counties.
