Harris confronts critics and finally releases her official policy agenda as election debate nears

Vice President Kamala Harris has finally released her policy agenda before Tuesday's election debate, hoping it will help to quell criticism that she has failed to spell out what she would actually do if she wins the presidency this November.

The Harris campaign published a 10-step plan on Monday entitled "A New Way Forward,” promising to protect abortion rights and bring down the cost of healthcare, housing, childcare and consumer goods.

The plan also vows to revive President Joe Biden's bipartisan immigration bill, which would increase funding for both border cops and asylum case officers, and to introduce a binding code of ethics for Supreme Court justices. The bill was stopped by Republicans in Congress.

Harris’s policy proposals come after a New York Times/Siena poll put Harris and her opponent Donald Trump neck and neck in the presidential race, with around 20 percent of respondents saying they needed to know more about her policies versus 6 percent for Trump.

The former California senator enjoyed a sustained honeymoon period after replacing Joe Biden on the presidential ticket, but is now under fire from both allies and enemies for being too vague about her policy platform and dodging set-piece interviews with the press.

Yet there are many outstanding questions about Harris's agenda that Monday's plan left unaddressed.

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In the New York Times/Siena poll, 21 percent of respondents said that jobs and the economy was the most important issue facing the country, while 7 percent said the same about inflation and the cost of living.

This is where Harris has outlined the most detailed policy proposals. Her new plan promises to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit and restore and expand the Child Tax Credit.

It pledges to increase taxes on the richest Americans, as well as the controversial corporate practice of stock buybacks, while keeping tax bills the same or lower for any household that earns less than $400,000-a-year.

The Harris campaign also says she will build 3 million more homes, cut building regulations to simulate further construction, outlaw some forms of price fixing by landlords and offer homebuyers a mortgage down payment subsidy of up to $25,000.

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Other economic policies include medication price caps, a ban on price gouging in the food industry, increasing healthcare subsidies and an “end” to the practice of businesses paying service workers less than minimum wage if they can make up the rest in tips.

The price-gouging proposal has been controversial even among progressives, with some Democrats conspicuously failing to endorse it while left-leaning economists explicitly lambasted it.

Another uncertainty about a Harris presidency relates to Israel’s war against Hamas.

"Vice President Harris will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and she will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself," her policy document says.

"She and President Biden are working to end the war in Gaza, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.

"She and President Biden are working around the clock to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done."

Biden is still pushing for a three-stage peace plan that would begin with a temporary ceasefire and the release of some Israeli hostages by Hamas while the two sides negotiate a more permanent agreement and the release of all hostages.

But this plan remains mired in deadlock. Hamas leaders have said they want a permanent end to the war, but Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said he will not agree to that without a "total victory" over Hamas.

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Harris signaled a harder stance against Israel's government by refusing to preside over a speech by Netanyahu to Congress. Even so, she has so far ruled out using US arms transfers as a bargaining chip to reach a deal.

Critics argue that withholding weapons from Israel is the only way to force its leaders to the table, and that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza that make arms transfers illegal under US law.

One poll by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that 52 percent of Americans and 62 percent of 2020 Biden voters believe that the US should stop weapons shipments until Israel stops attacking Palestinian civilians.

Harris has been sharply criticized for her record on immigration, with Republicans alleging that she failed to prevent a "migrant crime wave" while serving as Biden's "border czar."

The Times/Siena poll suggested voters are sympathetic to this message. A total of 63 percent of respondents said she had "lots of" or "some" responsibility for problems at the US border.

Monday's policy platform took a centrist line, pledging "tough, smart solutions to secure the border, keep communities safe and reform our broken immigration system."

It says Harris will bring back Biden's bipartisan border bill, and "comprehensively" reform the immigration system to ensure both "strong border security" and "an earned pathway to citizenship."

Exactly what that would entail, however, was not spelled out.