Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign promises: Here are her plans for the presidency

Presidential campaigns usually plan their policy agendas months, or years, in advance. But since she became the Democratic presidential nominee this summer, Vice President Kamala Harris has been playing catch-up. 

Harris’ policy proposals overlap with many that President Joe Biden has pursued, particularly on abortion, guns, voting rights, health care and labor unions. But she’s made her own promises on housing, price gouging and the Supreme Court — and is rolling out more.

Since PolitiFact’s founding in 2007, a coverage cornerstone has been tracking the progress, or lack thereof, of sitting presidents’ campaign promises. We tracked 533 promises made by former President Barack Obama during his 2008 and 2012 campaigns, broken down into one of three final ratings: Promise Kept, Promise Broken, and Compromise.

When former President Donald Trump won in 2016, we tracked 102 of his promises. And we are now tracking the progress on 99 promises made by Biden during his 2020 campaign.

In a separate article, we have assembled more than 100 policy proposals Trump has made since announcing his reelection bid in late 2022. Now we’re doing the same for more than 30 proposals made by Harris. 

Most of the promises below appear on her campaign website; we have also scoured her speeches and social media posts to collect her policy pledges. Suggest a promise we might have missed by emailing [email protected].

RELATED: Here’s what Donald Trump is promising voters for a second term

Eliminate the filibuster to restore the Roe v. Wade precedent on abortion

Abortion rights is a signature issue for Harris, and this promise is similar to an unfulfilled Biden pledge. On Sept. 24, Harris told Wisconsin Public Radio that "we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe," referring to the 60-vote threshold needed to proceed to most votes in the Senate. By eliminating the filibuster, Senate Democrats would have a better chance to gather enough votes to mandate abortion access up to fetal viability (around 24 weeks of pregnancy) across the country. 

Ban corporate price gouging on food and groceries

The four-decade-high inflation in 2022 has come down to roughly normal levels but remains an election-year concern for many voters. Economists are skeptical that price gouging is a major culprit in price increases.

(AP)

Will not raise taxes for those earning less than $400,000 a year

This promise extends another Biden pledge.

Roll back Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans

Enact a minimum tax for billionaires

Increase the tax rate on long-term capital gains to 28% for those earning at least $1 million a year

The flip side of Harris’ pledge to protect Americans earning under $400,000 a year is to increase them on wealthier households. This would include repealing certain tax cuts affecting high earners that Trump signed initially in 2017, and enacting a minimum tax for billionaires, and raising capital gains rates for millionaires. Under Harris’ plan, for instance, the top marginal tax rate for the highest income brackets would rise to 39.6%. 

This plan would include other lower-profile changes geared towards higher earners. The Tax Foundation, a center-right think tank, projects that the tax changes for individuals would generate about $1.2 trillion in new revenue for the federal treasury, and the changes for corporations would generate almost $2.2 trillion. However, the group said these increases would reduce gross domestic product by 2%, wages by 1.2% and the number of jobs by nearly 800,000.

Expand the child tax credit to $6,000 for families with newborns

This builds on a Stalled Biden promise. Biden and Harris have touted reductions in poverty from expanding the child tax credit, from $2,000 per child, up to age 16, to $3,600 per child younger than 6, and $3,000 per child ages 6 to 17, during the COVID-19 pandemic. But that expansion lapsed when the two parties failed to agree on an extension. The Tax Foundation estimated increasing the child tax credit to $6,000 could cost $1.6 trillion over 10 years.

Quadruple the tax on stock buybacks

When a company buys some of its outstanding stock shares it reduces the number of shares available for other investors to buy. This typically increases the value of the remaining shares. Harris would raise the tax rate on this maneuver. The Tax Foundation said this would raise $79 billion over 10 years.

Sign the bipartisan border security bill

Harris’ major promise on immigration is to resurrect a bipartisan Senate deal that languished after Trump urged congressional allies to block it. That measure would have given the executive branch emergency authority to bar most migrants from seeking asylum if unauthorized immigration at the border reached an average of 5,000 encounters a day over seven consecutive days. The bill would have raised the standard to pass initial asylum screenings, expedited the asylum process, and funded the hiring of thousands of new asylum officers and additional detention space. 

A new housing development is seen July 11, 2024, in Jackson Township, Pa. (AP)

Provide first-time homebuyers with up to $25,000 for down payments, plus more generous support for first-generation homeowners

Build 3 million more rental units and affordable homes

Outlaw new forms of price fixing by corporate landlords

These policies are aimed at easing the anxiety of younger and first-time homebuyers who have been battered by rising home prices and high interest rates that were intended to curb inflation. The $25,000 payments could cost the government more than $220 billion over 10 years, the Tax Foundation projected.

Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines

Require universal background checks for gun sales

Biden also made these promises. The one on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines is rated Stalled, but Biden earned a Compromise on background checks due to a limited expansion of checks under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Biden signed in 2022. The Biden administration published a rule in 2024 that tightened the definition of which firearm sellers must run background checks on buyers. Harris would go further to include all sales, even those that wouldn’t qualify under the 2024 rule.

Sign the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act

These pledges overlap with a Biden promise that failed to advance in the Senate because of Republican opposition. The former legislation is named for John Lewis, the Democratic Georgia representative, civil rights leader and voting-rights champion who died in 2020. It would prevent states from passing voting laws that discriminate against minority voters. The Freedom to Vote Act is broader, setting standards for early voting, mail voting and voter registration and seeking to curb gerrymandering and certain campaign-finance practices.

Pass the Equality Act to protect LGBTQ+ Americans from discrimination

The law would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The law currently protects against discrimination on based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The proposal applies to employment, education, housing, credit, jury service and programs that receive federal funding and public accommodations such as retail stores. Biden’s promise to pass the same law is Stalled.

Extend the $35 cap on insulin and $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket spending to all Americans

Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 capped insulin prices at $35 and out-of-pocket spending at $2,000 for Americans on Medicare. But the administration’s hope of setting these limits for all Americans did not make it into the final version of the bill. 

Make tax credit enhancements for health care premiums permanent 

The Inflation Reduction Act extended premium tax credits that make buying health insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces more affordable. They are set to expire after 2025.

Take on pharmacy benefit managers

Pharmacy benefit managers, a type of intervener between pharmaceutical companies and patients, have become a bipartisan target. This dovetails with both Biden’s and Harris’ efforts to reduce drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers over price. Harris has provided little detail about how she would approach this issue.

Ensure that no former president has immunity for crimes committed while in office

A landmark 2024 Supreme Court ruling gave presidents broad immunity for official acts in office, raising questions for the outcome of several criminal cases against Trump. It’s unclear how Harris would pursue this promise.

Require Supreme Court justices to comply with ethics rules 

Impose term limits on Supreme Court justices

U.S. Supreme Court justices do not have fixed terms and are not bound by ethics rules that other U.S. judges must follow. Changing this would require legislation, though it’s unclear whether such a law would survive judicial scrutiny, including by the Supreme Court itself.

(AP)

Raise the minimum wage

The minimum wage hasn’t been raised since 2009. Biden promised to do it, but it has Stalled because Republicans and some Democrats opposed it. 

Eliminate taxes on tips 

Trump proposed this first, and Harris has followed suit. Both candidates were believed to be eyeing voters in Nevada, where many work in the hospitality industry and receive tips for compensation. The Tax Foundation estimates that this would cost the government $118 billion in revenue over 10 years.

Establish paid family and medical leave

The U.S. is the world's only industrialized country without a national paid family and medical leave policy that guarantees workers compensation when they take time off to have children. Biden’s effort to change this is Stalled. 

End sub-minimum wages for tipped workers and people with disabilities

Under federal law, employers may pay tipped workers less than the minimum wage under the assumption that these workers will make up the difference through tips. Another category of worker, people with disabilities, may also be paid less than the minimum wage. Harris would eliminate both of these categories and require that both types of workers be paid the minimum wage instead. 

Double the number of apprenticeships

There are an estimated 600,000 apprentices in the United States. Some labor economists have urged the United States to follow the lead of European countries in relying more heavily on an apprenticeship model as a less-expensive alternative to higher education.

End four-year college degree requirements for federal jobs where appropriate

This is policy has bipartisan appeal; Trump issued an executive order going in this direction in 2020, and governors from both parties have pursued similar policies in their states. 

Sign the pro-labor PRO Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act 

Democrats have historically sided with labor unions, while Republicans have sided with management. The Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act would have helped labor unions in several ways, including by expanding the definition of who can be covered by federal labor standards, undercutting "right to work" laws in many states, and banning the use of striker replacements. Biden has so far failed to pass the PRO Act. The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act is focused on public-employee unions, setting minimum collective bargaining rights.

Generate 25 million new business applications 

Expand the startup expense tax deduction for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000 

Increase the share of federal contract dollars going to small businesses

Harris’ agenda to bolster small businesses, a constituency that historically leans Republican, would cost about $24 billion in tax revenue over 10 years, according to the Tax Foundation.

Secure hostage and cease-fire deals between Israel and Hamas

Biden has worked, so far fruitlessly, on an agreement to bring Israeli hostages home and end the Israel-Hamas war. Harris promises to reach an agreement.

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