Card #8: Introducing Kamala Harris

Getting To Know Presidential Nominee
Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris has been our Vice President for nearly four years. Still, most people know little about her, other than that she’s the first woman VP, she has a Black father and South Asian mother, and she was a US Senator from California before becoming VP. Before that, she was California’s Attorney General and San Francisco’s District Attorney. There is a reason we refer to this presidential race as one between a Prosecutor and a Felon.

• The Economy: Harris leads support of small businesses and is working on a $1.25 billion program for underrepresented entrepreneurs. A strong advocate for union workers, she walked the picket line with striking auto workers in 2019. In her four years as VP, Harris has helped expand union membership by 20% and worked to raise the minimum wage for federal workers to $15 per hour. She has the endorsement of unions, including UAW (The United Auto Workers), LIUNA (The Laborers’ International Union of North America), UNITE HERE (the Hospitality Workers’ Union), WGAW (The Writers Guild of America West), and IATSE (The Union Behind Entertainment).
• Healthcare and Reproductive Rights: Harris supports expanded access to affordable healthcare for all Americans, lower prescription drug costs, and healthcare tax credits. As Senator, she introduced a bill to help protect the health of mothers during pregnancy and childbirth, particularly in underserved communities. She vows to continue to work for a national abortion rights law and access for all women to better healthcare.
• Gun Violence: Harris has consistently spoken out against gun violence. Currently heading the new Gun Violence Prevention Office, she believes in expanded background checks and banning assault weapons. 

• Voting Rights: Harris supports passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and efforts “to ensure all Americans have an unencumbered path to vote whether in person or by mail.”
• Immigration: As VP, Harris developed a program to address the “root causes” of immigration from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, as well as public/private initiatives to invest in those countries. Supporting the bipartisan immigration bill negotiated last year, she said, “We have a broken immigration system, and we need to fix it.”
• Foreign Relations: Harris has met with 150 world leaders and spoken at several international security conferences.  Her efforts were integral to negotiations resulting in the recent prisoner exchange with Russia. She traveled to Africa, building alliances that helped bring the African Union into the G20. In Asia, she laid the groundwork for a historic deal between Vietnam and the US to sell US airplanes and strengthened our computer chip supply chain with Singapore. Harris strongly supports Ukraine and, in a meeting with President Xi of China, warned against taking actions hostile to independent Taiwan. While supporting Israel, Harris is critical of the assault in Gaza and the Netanyahu government.
• Climate Change: Harris champions efforts to combat climate change, particularly for communities vulnerable to the adverse effects of pollution.

“Some folks would suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down.… The true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.” 
— Vice President Kamala Harris, Pittsfield, MA, July 2024