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Political positions of Kamala Harris
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The '''political positions of Kamala Harris''' are reflected by her [[United States Senate]] voting record, public speeches, and interviews. [[Kamala Harris]] is a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] senator from [[California]] who has served since 2017.
== Social issues ==
===Abortion===
[[File:Kamala Harris meeting with advocates from Planned Parenthood Action Fund C53hx uU8AIwn t (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Planned Parenthood|Planned Parenthood Action Fund]], 2017]]
In 2013, when she was California Attorney General, Harris allowed the Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian to cease the availability of elective abortions, after it entered a partnership with Catholic chain, St. Joseph Health System.<ref name=Hoag></ref> As the Attorney General, Harris had legal authority to decide on any such change, as a condition of her approving a major transaction involving any non-profit medical institution in the state.<ref name=Hoag/> Harris set conditions on the ban, which would not be able to go into affect without her knowledge or approval, requiring the hospital to "take steps to ensure that alternative providers are available and accessible to all women, especially low-income women for direct abortions" in the hospital's serviceable area.<ref name=Hoag/>Critics voiced concern that by imposing Catholic doctrine on its operations, St. Joseph was reducing the availability of reproductive services while receiving millions of dollars from taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and a legal status that allowed it to be tax-exempt while taking tax deductions.<ref name=Hoag/>
In September 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed "Assembly Bill 1671" into law, which was reportedly drafted by Harris, with input from Planned Parenthoodwhich sponsored the billmaking it a criminal offense to intentionally distribute, or to help with the dissemination of, unlawfully obtained confidential communications.<ref name=Criminalize></ref><ref name=AB1671></ref>
Since her election to the Senate, Harris has maintained a 100% rating by the abortion rights [[advocacy group]], [[Planned Parenthood Action Fund]], and a 0% rating by the anti-abortion group, [[National Right to Life Committee]].<ref></ref> She was also endorsed by [[Emily's List]] in 2015 during her Senatorial Campaign.<ref name=Emily></ref>
===Campaign finance===
[[File:Kamala Harris (48217605397).jpg|thumb|right|Des Moines, Iowa 2019]]
Harris's 2020 campaign has disavowed most corporate donations, and has committed to rejecting money from corporate political action committees for her presidential campaign, in favor of relying on small and large individual donors.<ref name="Herndon 2019"/><ref name="Reuters 2019"/><ref></ref>
Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>}}
However, in April 2019, after the [[Federal Election Commission|FEC]] released donation information, Harris was found to have accepted more donations from registered lobbyists among all the Democratic Presidential Nominees who vowed to not do so,<ref name=Accepted/> receiving such donations from federal, state, municipal and corporate lobbyists who represent entities such as [[Verizon]], [[Airbnb]], [[AT&T]], [[Novartis]], [[Visa Inc.|Visa]], [[Pfizer]], [[Cigna]], [[IBM]], [[Google]], along with lobbyists that represent industries such as [[charter school]]s, construction, and real estate.<ref name=Accepted/>
Harris, along with candidates [[Cory Booker]], [[Julian Castro]], [[Tulsi Gabbard]], [[Kirsten Gillibrand]], [[Amy Klobuchar]], [[Bernie Sanders]], [[Elizabeth Warren]], and [[Marianne Williamson]], has explicitly discouraged single-candidate super PACs from operating on her behalf, though she cannot prevent them from doing so.<ref></ref>
In the first quarter of 2019, nearly 40% of Harris's donations came from small donors (donations of less than $200), while over 60% of her donations came from large donors (donations of $200 or more).<ref></ref>
=== Cannabis ===
Harris did not initially support the legalization of recreational marijuana, but later moved to support legalization.<ref name="Herndon 2019"></ref> In 2010, while campaigning for Attorney General of California, she opposed [[2010 California Proposition 19|Proposition 19]], the first failed attempt to legalize recreational marijuana in California, on the grounds that selling drugs harms communities.<ref></ref> In 2015, she called for an end on the federal prohibition of medical marijuana.<ref></ref>
In April 2018, following reports that the Justice Department was blocking the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] from taking action on over two dozen requests to grow marijuana for use in research, Harris and Republican [[Orrin Hatch]] sent a letter to Attorney General [[Jeff Sessions]] on the necessity of marijuana research "for evidence-based decision making" and "to resolve critical questions of public health and safety, such as learning the impacts of marijuana on developing brains and formulating methods to test marijuana impairment in drivers."<ref></ref>
In May 2018, Harris announced she would co-sponsor the [[Marijuana Justice Act]] (originally introduced by Senator [[Cory Booker]] in August 2017) which would legalize cannabis at the federal level by removing it from the [[Controlled Substance Act]]. The bill would also require federal courts to automatically expunge earlier federal marijuana convictions related to use or possession and would penalize states that enforce cannabis laws in a disproportionate manner against minority or low-income individuals.<ref></ref><ref></ref>
In July 2019, Harris and Representative [[Jerry Nadler]] introduced the [[MORE Act|Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act]] of 2019, legislation that would legalize marijuana on the federal level in addition to expunging low-level marijuana possession convictions and authorizing grants to members of communities of color as part of an effort to reverse decades of damage cannabis criminalization had inflicted to those respective communities. In a statement, Harris cited the need to regulate marijuana and ensuring "everyone — especially communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs — has a real opportunity to participate in this growing industry."<ref></ref>
===Death penalty===
[[File:Oct. 14 Press Conference (37654158466).jpg|thumb|Harris with Senator [[Dianne Feinstein]] and Governor [[Jerry Brown]], 2017]]
Harris is opposed to the [[capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]], but has said that she would review each case individually.<ref name="sfbg.com"></ref> Her position was questioned in April 2004, when San Francisco Police Department Officer Isaac Espinoza was murdered in the Bayview district. She announced that she would not seek the death penalty for David Hill, the man accused of his killing. The decision evoked protests from the [[San Francisco Police Officers Association]], Senator [[Dianne Feinstein]], and others.<ref name=NYTmag></ref>
When in 2014, U.S. District Judge [[Cormac J. Carney]] declared [[capital punishment in California]] unconstitutional, Harris appealed the case.<ref name=NYTmag/>
On July 31, 2019, following Attorney General [[William Barr]] announcing that the United States federal government would resume the use of the death penalty for the first time in over twenty years, Harris was a cosponsor of a bill banning the death penalty.<ref></ref>
=== Disaster relief ===
In August 2018, Harris was one of eight senators to sign a letter to the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] charging the agency with not assisting displaced homeowners in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of [[Hurricane Maria]] under the [[Individuals and Households program]] (IHP) at "alarming rates."<ref></ref>
=== Economics ===
In April 2020, during the [[2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States]], Harris was a cosponsor of the All Dependents Count Act, legislation that expand eligibility for the $500 credit under the CARES Act in order for a taxpayer to receive a $500 credit for all dependents they care for.<ref></ref>
On April 10, 2020, Harris and Senator [[Elizabeth Warren]] introduced the Price Gouging Prevention Act, a bill that would empower the [[Federal Trade Commission]] to enforce a ban on excessive price increases of consumer goods amid national emergencies and specifically consider any price increase above 10% to be price gouging during such a declaration.<ref></ref>
In April 2020, Harris, along with Senator [[Sherrod Brown]] and Representatives [[Ayanna Pressley]] and [[Gregory Meeks]], sent a letter to the Small Business Administration and Treasury Department requesting that the aforementioned agencies move to ensure minority-owned businesses remain under the Paycheck Protection Program and called for the Trump administration revise guidance on the program in order to reaffirm lending institutions comply with fair lending laws and mandate that they report the demographics of program lending.<ref></ref>
===Education===
[[File:Malala Yousafzai with Kamala Harris.jpg|thumb|upright|Harris and [[Malala Yousafzai]], Pakistani activist for [[female education]] and [[Nobel Prize]] laureate.]]
Harris has argued for treating "habitual and chronic [[truancy]]" among children in elementary school as a crime committed by the parents of truant children.<ref></ref> She argues that there is a direct connection between habitual truancy in elementary school and crime later in life.<ref></ref><ref></ref> She has received the endorsement of the California Federation of Teachers.<ref name="Endorsements">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
Harris opposed California's [[1996 California Proposition 209|ban on affirmative action]].<ref></ref> She asked the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] to "reaffirm its decision that public colleges and universities may consider race as one factor in admissions decisions."<ref name="utexas"></ref><ref></ref> Harris filed legal papers in the Supreme Court case supporting race as an admissions factor at the [[University of Texas]].<ref name="utexas"/> She also filed papers supporting [[Affirmative action in the United States|affirmative action]] in a different Supreme Court case involving the [[University of Michigan]].<ref></ref>
Harris supports [[Desegregation busing|busing]] for desegregation of public schools, saying that "the schools of America are as [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]], if not more segregated, today than when I was in elementary school."<ref></ref> Harris views busing as an option to be considered by school districts, rather than the responsibility of the federal government.<ref></ref>
=== Election security ===
On December 21, 2017, Harris was one of six senators to introduce the "Secure Elections Act", legislation authorizing [[block grants]] for states that would update outdated voting technology. The act would also create a program for an independent panel of experts to develop [[cybersecurity]] guidelines for election systems that states could adopt if they choose, along with offering states resources to implement the recommendations.<ref></ref>
In May 2019, Harris was a cosponsor of the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act, legislation granting the [[United States Department of Homeland Security]] the authority "to set minimum cybersecurity standards for U.S. voting machines, authorize a one-time $500 million grant program for states to buy ballot-scanning machines to count paper ballots and require states to conduct risk-limiting audits of all federal elections in order to detect any cyber hacks."<ref></ref>
===Environment===
[[File:Kamala Harris at the Sorek Desalination Plant in Rishon Lezion, Israel 24830054958 bcc85e4624 h.jpg|thumb|right|Sorek [[Desalination]] Plant in Israel, 2017]]
During her time as San Francisco District Attorney, Harris created the Environmental Justice Unit in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office<ref></ref> and prosecuted several industries and individuals for pollution, most notably [[U-Haul]], Alameda Publishing Corporation, and the [[Cosco Busan oil spill]]. She also advocated for strong enforcement of environmental protection laws.<ref></ref>
In October 2017, Harris was one of nineteen senators to sign a letter to [[Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency]] [[Scott Pruitt]] questioning Pruitt's decision to repeal the [[Clean Power Plan]], asserting that the repeal's proposal used "mathematical sleights of hand to over-state the costs of industry compliance with the 2015 Rule and understate the benefits that will be lost if the 2017 repeal is finalized" and science denying and math fabricating would fail to "satisfy the requirements of the law, nor will it slow the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the inexorable rise in sea levels, or the other dire effects of global warming that our planet is already experiencing."<ref></ref>
In September 2018, Harris was one of eight senators to sponsor the Climate Risk Disclosure Act, a bill described by cosponsor [[Elizabeth Warren]] as using "market forces to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy – reducing the odds of an environmental and financial disaster without spending a dime of taxpayer money."<ref></ref> She stated that her goal would be achieving 100% of U.S. electricity from renewable energy sources, and that she supports a [[Green New Deal]], an idea made popular by first term Congresswoman [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]], because "climate change is an existential threat to all of us."<ref></ref>
In November 2018, Harris was one of 25 Democratic senators to cosponsor a resolution specifying key findings of the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change report and National Climate Assessment. The resolution affirmed the senators' acceptance of the findings and their support for bold action toward addressing climate change.<ref></ref>
On July 29, 2019, Harris and Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Climate Equity Act, a bill that would lay out steps for Congress and the White House on how to go about guaranteeing policies that composed "a future Green New Deal protect the health and economic wellbeing of all Americans for generations to come." Referring to climate change as "an existential threat", Harris noted cutting emissions and ending American reliance on fossil fuels were not enough and cited the need "that communities already contending with unsafe drinking water, toxic air, and lack of economic opportunity are not left behind."<ref></ref>
On September 4, 2019, Harris unveiled a $10 trillion climate change plan intended to move the United States to a 100 percent renewable energy-based power grid by 2030 in addition to transitioning all vehicles in America to the same energy sources by 2035. She pledged to rejoin the [[Paris Agreement]] and end U.S. support for international oil and natural gas extraction projects, furthering that as president she would "hold polluters accountable for the damage they inflict upon our environment and set us on a path to a 100 percent clean economy that creates millions of good-paying jobs."<ref></ref>
===Guns===
[[File:Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Seizure of 1,200 Guns in Statewide Sweep.jpg|thumb|Announcing seizure of 1,200 guns across California, 2011]]
Harris earned an "F" rating from the [[National Rifle Association]] for her consistent efforts supporting gun control.<ref name="NRARating17"></ref>
While serving as district attorney in San Francisco Harris, along with other district attorneys, filed an [[amicus brief]] in ''[[District of Columbia v. Heller]]'' arguing that the Washington, D.C. gun law at issue did not violate the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]].<ref></ref> In her second term as district attorney, she said that getting guns off the streets was a priority.<ref></ref>
During her run for Senate, Harris was endorsed by former U.S. Representative [[Gabby Giffords]], who had been shot in [[2011 Tucson shooting|Tucson in 2011]]. She was also endorsed by the [[Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence]].<ref name="PanzarWillon"></ref>
In response to the [[2017 Las Vegas shooting]], Harris supported the call for more gun control. Saying that she believed that [[thoughts and prayers]] are inadequate answers to the shooting, she stated that "...we must also commit ourselves to action. Another moment of silence won't suffice."<ref name="Alcántara"></ref>
Speaking to [[Wolf Blitzer]] in August 2019, Harris stated that congressional action on gun control rested in the hands of Senate Majority Leader [[Mitch McConnell]] and that she "would hope and pray that he understands that he actually has the power to do the right thing here and that he will do the right thing."<ref></ref>
On August 14, 2019, Harris unveiled a plan that would address domestic terrorism while prioritizing increasing the difficulty for suspected individuals to either obtain or keep firearms through the formation of domestic terrorism prevention orders meant to empower law enforcement officers and family members with the ability to petition federal court for a temporary restriction on a person's access to firearms in the event that they "exhibit clear evidence of dangerousness." Harris stated that in the US "loaded guns should not be a few clicks away for any domestic terrorist with a laptop or smartphone" and cited the "need to take action to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and stop violent, hate-fueled attacks before they happen."<ref></ref>
Harris owns a gun for "personal safety", as she was a career prosecutor.<ref></ref>
=== Health care ===
On August 30, 2017, Harris announced at a town hall in Oakland that she would co-sponsor fellow Senator [[Bernie Sanders]]' "Medicare for All" bill, supporting [[single-payer healthcare]].<ref></ref><ref name="Herndon 2019"/>
In April 2018, Harris was one of ten senators to sponsor the Choose Medicare Act, an expanded public option for health insurance that also increased ObamaCare subsidies and rendered individuals with higher income levels eligible for its assistance.<ref></ref>
In December 2018, Harris was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials [[Alex Azar]], [[Seema Verma]], and [[Steve Mnuchin]] arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act to authorize states to "increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions." The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and "re-engage with stakeholders, states, and Congress."<ref></ref>
On July 29, 2019, Harris unveiled a health plan that would expand coverage while preserving a role for private insurance companies, the plan calling for transitioning to a Medicare for All system over a period of ten years that would be concurrent with infants and the uninsured automatically being placed into the system while other individuals would have the option to buy into the health care plan backed by the government.<ref></ref> The plan has been met with some criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.<ref></ref>
In April 2020, Harris was one of twenty-eight Democratic senators to sign a letter to the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] urging the department to reopen the online marketplace of the Affordable Care Act as to assist uninsured Americans with acquiring health insurance amid the coronavirus pandemic, opining that opening the marketplace "would provide an easy pathway to coverage for those who under previous circumstances may have decided to forego health insurance or purchase a substandard, junk insurance plan, but now in a global pandemic are in vital need of comprehensive coverage to protect themselves, their families, and our broader community."<ref></ref>
=== Immigration ===
[[File:Kamala Harris (36670903290).jpg|thumb|right|Harris speaking in support of DACA in September 2017]]
[[File:Meeting with Dreamers 12-21-17 39176110212 78be0e7a32 h (cropped).jpg|thumb|Meeting with DREAMers in December 2017]]
Harris has expressed support for San Francisco's [[sanctuary city]] policy of not inquiring about immigration status in the process of a criminal investigation.<ref></ref> She argued that it is important that immigrants be able to talk with law enforcement without fear.<ref></ref>
On October 25, 2017, Harris stated she would not support a spending bill until Congress addressed the [[Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]] program in a way that clarified "what we are going to do to protect and take care of our DACA young people in this country."<ref></ref> She did not support a February 2018 proposal by some Democrats to provide President Trump with $25 billion in funding for a border wall in exchange for giving DREAMers a pathway to citizenship.<ref></ref>
In a January 2018 interview, when asked by Hiram Soto about her ideal version of a bipartisan deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Harris stated the need to focus on comprehensive immigration reform and "pass a clean [[DREAM Act]]."<ref></ref>
In January 2018, Harris and three other Democratic senators were cosponsors of the Border and Port Security Act, legislation that would mandate U.S. Customs and Border Protection "hire, train and assign at least 500 officers per year until the number of needed positions the model identifies is filled" in addition to requiring the commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection to determine potential equipment and infrastructure improvements that could be used for ports of entry.<ref></ref>
In April 2018, Harris was one of five senators to send a letter to acting director of ICE [[Thomas Homan]] on standards used by the agency when determining how to detain a pregnant woman, requesting that pregnant women not be held in custody unless under extraordinary standards after reports "that ICE has failed to provide critical medical care to pregnant women in immigration detentionresulting in miscarriages and other negative health outcomes".<ref></ref>
[[File:Attorney General Harris Tours U.S.-Mexico Border N2063 border 1.jpg|thumb|right|Harris Tours U.S.-Mexico Border, 2011]]
In July 2018, the [[Presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] falsely accused Harris of "supporting the animals of [[MS-13]]."<ref name=":7"></ref><ref name=":8"></ref> She responded, "As a career prosecutor, I actually went after gangs and transnational criminal organizations. That's being a leader on public safety. What is not, is ripping babies from their mothers."<ref name=":7" />
In July 2018, Harris was one of 22 senators to sponsor the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act, which if enacted would prohibit immigration officers from detaining pregnant women in a majority of circumstances and improve conditions of care for individuals in custody.<ref></ref>
[[File:U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris speaks at L.A.'s Families Belong Together March.jpg|thumb|Harris speaking at L.A.'s [[Families Belong Together]] protest in June 2018]]
In August 2018, Harris led fifteen Democrats and [[Bernie Sanders]] in a letter to [[United States Secretary of Homeland Security]] [[Kirstjen Nielsen]] demanding that the Trump administration take immediate action in attempting to reunite 539 migrant children with their families, citing each passing day of inaction as intensifying "trauma that this administration has needlessly caused for children and their families seeking humanitarian protection."<ref></ref>
In November 2018, Harris was one of eleven senators to sign a letter to [[United States Secretary of Defense]] [[James Mattis]] concerning "the overt politicization of the military" with the Trump administration's deployment of 5,800 troops to the U.S.–Mexico border, and requesting a briefing and written justification from the U.S. Northern Command for troop deployment, while urging Mattis to "curb the unprecedented escalation of DOD involvement in immigration enforcement."<ref></ref>
In January 2019, Harris was one of twenty senators to sponsor the Dreamer Confidentiality Act, a bill imposing a ban on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from passing information collected on DACA recipients to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Justice, or any other law enforcement agency with exceptions in the case of fraudulent claims, national security issues, or non-immigration related felonies being investigated.<ref></ref>
In June 2019, following the Housing and Urban Development Department's confirmation that DACA recipients did not meet eligibility for federal backed loans, Harris and eleven other senators introduced The Home Ownership Dreamers Act, legislation that mandated that the federal government was not authorized to deny mortgage loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Agriculture Department solely due to the immigration status of an applicant.<ref></ref>
In July 2019, along with [[Kirsten Gillibrand]] and [[Amy Klobuchar]], Harris sent a letter to the Office of Refugee Resettlement asserting that the agency "should be prioritizing reunification of every child as soon as possible, but instead it has been responsible for policies that are forcing longer stays in government custody for children" and that it was mandatory that the office "ensure that the custody and processing of [unaccompanied migrant children] is meeting the minimum standards required by domestic and international law."<ref></ref>
In July 2019, Harris and fifteen other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act which mandated that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor ahead of engaging in enforcement actions at sensitive locations with the exception of special circumstances and that agents receive annual training in addition to being required to report annually regarding enforcement actions in those locations.<ref></ref>
In August 2019, after the Trump administration released a new regulation imposing the possibility that any green card and visa applicants could be turned down in the event they have low incomes or little education and have used benefits such as food stamps and housing vouchers at some point, Harris referred to the regulation as part of President Trump's ongoing campaign "to vilify a whole group of people" and cited Trump's sending of service members to the southern border and building a border wall as part of his goal to distract "from the fact that he has betrayed so many people and has actually done very little that has been productive in the best interest of American families."<ref></ref>
In April 2020, Harris was a cosponsor of the Coronavirus Immigrant Families Protection Act, legislation which would provide dedicated funding for the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] in its efforts for public outreach in multiple languages to hard-to-reach populations in order to ensure vulnerable communities are granted access to COVID-19 relief measures as well as critical public health information. The bill would also modify immigration policies deterring immigrants from receiving medical care relating to coronavirus.<ref></ref>
In April 2020, Harris, along with fellow California Senator [[Diane Feinstein]] and Representative [[Juan Vargas]], sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General requesting an investigation into the way detainees were treated at the Otay Mesa Detention Center following reports that they were required to sign contracts in order to receive masks, citing that they were "in a public health crisis, and it is our duty to protect the health and safety of every individual, especially those who are in custody and unable to take precautions on their own."<ref></ref>
=== LGBT rights ===
[[File:Kamala Harris (48390414112).jpg|thumb|right|[[San Francisco Pride]], 2019]]
During her tenure as California Attorney General, Harris declined to defend the state's [[Same-sex marriage in California|ban on same-sex marriage]] in court. She supported the Obama administration's guidance supporting transgender students. Following the Supreme Court's overturning of the ban on same-sex marriage, she proceeded to conduct California's first same-sex marriage.<ref></ref> Later on in 2015, she argued in court to withhold gender reassignment surgery from two transgender inmates who were prescribed the procedure while serving the sentences. This stance disappointed some LGBT rights advocates; she later stated that she only took that stance in court because her job required her to do so.<ref name=":10" />
As a member of the U.S. Senate, she co-sponsored the [[Equality Act (United States)|Equality Act]].<ref name=":10">there's just one thing|website=Washington Blade|date=October 25, 2017}}</ref>
In October 2019, Harris participated in a CNN/Human Rights Campaign town hall on the topic of LGBTQ rights, where she pledged her support for "all of the folks who are fighting for equality" in cases that would determine whether gay and transgender people were protected under laws banning federal workplace discrimination.<ref></ref>
=== Medical leave ===
On October 7, 2019, Harris unveiled a six months paid family and medical leave plan that included forming a new Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave that would oversee, determine eligibility and authorize benefit payments. Harris's paid leave program would be funded through general revenue and payroll contributions and establish a federal Bureau of Children and Family Justice. In a statement, Harris said the US will be brought "closer to economic justice for workers and ensures newborn children or children who are sick can get the care they need from a parent without thrusting the family into upheaval" via a six-month paid leave guarantee.<ref></ref>
=== Net neutrality ===
In September 2017, Harris was one of nine senators to sign a letter to [[Federal Communications Commission]] Chairman [[Ajit Pai]] that charged the FCC with failing "to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to comment on the tens of thousands of filed complaints that directly shed light on proposed changes to existing net neutrality protections."<ref></ref>
In March 2018, Harris was one of ten senators to sign a letter spearheaded by [[Jeff Merkley]] lambasting a proposal from FCC Chairman [[Ajit Pai]] that would curb the scope of benefits from the Lifeline program during a period where roughly 6.5 million people in poor communities relied on Lifeline to receive access to high-speed internet, citing that it was Pai's "obligation to the American public, as the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to improve the Lifeline program and ensure that more Americans can afford access, and have means of access, to broadband and phone service." The senators also advocated for insuring "Lifeline reaches more Americans in need of access to communication services."<ref></ref>
=== Supreme Court ===
In a September 2019 letter to [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Harris called for the creation of a task force to investigate allegations against Associate Justice [[Brett Kavanaugh]] and look into whether Kavanaugh lied to Congress during his testimony the previous year as a Supreme Court nominee.<ref></ref> In October 2019, when asked whether she thought a president undergoing impeachment inquiries should be authorized to nominate Supreme Court justices, Harris replied, "That's a great question. I think he should be put on a timeout across the board."<ref></ref>
=== Taxes ===
Harris opposed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and has called for a repeal of the bill's tax cuts for wealthy Americans.<ref name=":0"></ref> In 2018, she proposed a tax cut for the majority of working- and middle-class Americans. An analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimated that the bill would reduce federal revenue by $2.8 trillion over a decade. She proposed to pay for the tax cuts by repealing tax cuts for wealthy Americans and by increasing taxes on corporations.<ref name="Reuters 2019"></ref><ref name=":0" /><ref></ref>
=== Trade ===
In May 2019, Harris stated she would not have voted for the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA) due to her belief that "we can do a better job to protect American workers" and called for the United States to do "a better job in terms of thinking about the priorities that should be more apparent now than perhaps they were then, which are issues like the climate crisis and what we need to build into these trade agreements."<ref></ref>
In January 2020, she was one of ten senators to vote against the [[USMCA]]<ref></ref>, stating that "by not confronting climate change, the USMCA fails to meet the crises of the moment"<ref></ref>.
=== Voting rights ===
In May 2019, Harris attributed the 2018 gubernatorial losses of [[Stacey Abrams]] and [[Andrew Gillum]], in both [[2018 Georgia gubernatorial election|Georgia]] and [[2018 Florida gubernatorial election|Florida]] to [[voter suppression]].<ref></ref>
=== United States Postal Service ===
In March 2019, Harris was a cosponsor of a bipartisan resolution led by [[Gary Peters]] and [[Jerry Moran]] that opposed privatization of the United States Postal Service (USPS), citing the USPS as an establishment that was self-sustained and noting concerns that a potential privatization could cause higher prices and reduced services for customers of USPS with a particular occurrence in rural communities.<ref></ref>
In April 2020, Harris was one of fourteen senators to sign a letter led by [[Cory Booker]] to Senate Majority Leader [[Mitch McConnell]] and Senate Minority Leader [[Chuck Schumer]] urging them "to provide appropriate funding to the United States Postal Service (USPS) in the next coronavirus package that Congress takes up" as they reasoned that millions of Americans rely on the USPS for essential goods and duties.<ref></ref>
== Foreign policy ==
In April 2017, responding to the [[Khan Shaykhun chemical attack]], Harris charged [[president of Syria|Syrian president]] [[Bashar al-Assad]] with attacking Syrian children, and stated "the clear fact that president Assad is not only a ruthless dictator brutalizing his own people – he is a war criminal the international community cannot ignore." She called on President Trump to work with Congress on his administration's "lack of clear objectives in Syria and articulate a detailed strategy and path forward in partnership with our allies."<ref></ref>
[[File:Kamala Harris speaks with Palestinian students and scholarship recipients at Al-Quds Bard College 37815001925 5c2367b398 h.jpg|thumb|Harris speaks with [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] students at the [[Al-Quds University]] in the [[State of Palestine]], [[West Bank]], 2017]]
In 2017, Harris gave a public address to [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee|AIPAC]] attendees. She said: "I believe Israel should never be a partisan issue, and as long as I'm a United States senator, I will do everything in my power to ensure broad and bipartisan support for Israel's security and right to self-defense."<ref></ref> She has opposed the [[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]] movement targeting Israel.<ref name="jta"></ref> She was a co-sponsor of a Senate resolution expressing objection to the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334|UN Security Council Resolution 2334]], which condemned [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlement building]] in the occupied [[Palestinian territories]] as a violation of international law.<ref name="JNS News"></ref><ref></ref><ref name="jta"/> At the AIPAC conference, she said that "the first resolution I co-sponsored as a United States senator was to combat anti-Israel bias at the United Nations".<ref name="JNS News"/> She also supported a Senate resolution celebrating the 50th anniversary of the [[reunification of Jerusalem]].<ref></ref><ref></ref> In late 2017, she traveled to Israel, where she met with Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].<ref name="JNS News"/>
In October 2017, Harris condemned the [[2017–present Rohingya genocide in Myanmar|genocide]] of the [[Rohingya people|Rohingya Muslim]] minority in [[Myanmar]] and called for a stronger response to the crisis.<ref></ref>
In February 2018, Harris was one of 18 Democratic senators to sign a letter to Trump stating that he lacked the authority to launch a preemptive strike against North Korea without authorization from Congress. The letter stated: "Without congressional authority, a preventative or preemptive U.S. military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority."<ref></ref>
Harris supported the [[Iran nuclear deal]].<ref name="jta"/> In 2018, after Trump announced the United States was withdrawing from the [[Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]], Harris released a statement saying the decision "jeopardizes our national security and isolates us from our closest allies" while calling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action "the best existing tool we have to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and avoid a disastrous military conflict in the Middle East."<ref></ref> In late 2018, she voted to withdraw U.S. military aid for [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen|Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen]]. She also backed a resolution blaming Saudi Crown Prince [[Mohammad bin Salman]] for the murder of dissident journalist [[Jamal Khashoggi]] in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.<ref></ref>
In December 2018, after [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Mike Pompeo]] announced the Trump administration was suspending its obligations in the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]] in 60 days in the event that Russia continued to violate the treaty, she was one of 26 senators to sign a letter expressing concern over the administration "now abandoning generations of bipartisan U.S. leadership around the paired goals of reducing the global role and number of nuclear weapons and ensuring strategic stability with America's nuclear-armed adversaries" and calling on Trump to continue arms negotiations.<ref></ref>
Harris voted in favor of a $675 billion [[Military budget of the United States|defense budget bill]] for 2019.<ref name="press-enterprise"></ref> She said that [[North Korea]] is "one of the most serious security threats".<ref></ref> In February 2019, after former Acting FBI Director [[Andrew McCabe]] claimed that President Trump believed the claims of [[President of Russia]] [[Vladimir Putin]] over U.S. intelligence agencies' reports on the subject of [[North Korea and weapons of mass destruction|North Korea's missile capabilities]], she told reporters, "The idea that the president of the U.S. would take the word of the head of Russia over the intel community is the height of irresponsibility and shameful."<ref></ref> In an August 2019 interview with the Council on Foreign Relations, when asked if she as president would sign an agreement with North Korea granting partial sanctions relief in exchange for some denuclearization, Harris replied that President Trump had given "Kim one PR victory after the next, all without securing any real concessions" and that she would "consider targeted sanctions relief to improve the lives of the North Korean people if the regime were to take serious, verifiable steps to roll back its nuclear program."<ref></ref>
Harris criticized Trump's decision to [[American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War|withdraw U.S. troops from Syria]], which critics say gave [[Turkey]] the green light to launch the [[2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria|military offensive]] against [[Rojava|Syrian Kurds]].<ref></ref>
== References ==
[[Category:Kamala Harris]]
[[Category:Political positions of United States senators]]
https://ift.tt/2Wh6NIE
