Category Archives: Democrats 2020

Democrats 2020, Election 2020, Immigration-Migration-Refugees, Justice Agenda, News & Photo Features

Democratic Race for 2020: Warren Offers Plan for Justice for Border Communities

Senator Elizabeth Warren, at a rally in Brooklyn with Julian Castro, released her plan for Justice for Border Communities © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The vigorous contest of Democrats running for president has produced excellent policy proposals to address major issues. Senator Elizabeth Warren released her plan for Justice for Border Communities – a stark contrast to what Trump has done to punish asylum seekers, separating children from their parents, and most recently, using the coronavirus pandemic to raise the prospect of shutting the border to Mexico entirely.

“Our border region is made up of multinational, multicultural, economically vibrant communities that reflect the best of what our country can be. From affordable housing to investing in small businesses to stopping Trump’s monument to hate, we can make big, structural change to promote accountability, opportunity, and prosperity at the border,” Senator Warren stated.

This is from the Warren campaign:

Charlestown, MA – Senator Elizabeth Warren, running for president, released her plan to ensure accountability in our border communities by rolling back the Trump administration’s incessant militarization, immediately stopping the construction of Trump’s wall on the border between Mexico and the United States, creating a fair and welcoming immigration system, and respecting the rights of people and our fragile border ecosystem.
 
She will also work to build a 21st century border economy by boosting small businesses, growing access to financial services, closing the digital divide, uplifting labor and environmental protections through trade, and developing the green workforce of the future.
 
Some new proposals in her plan include:

In her first 100 days, she will convene a borderlands summit, bringing together federal, state, and local representatives, Tribal Nations, members of the business community, community organizations and stakeholders to undo the harm of the Trump administration and create more prosperity in the region.

She will create a new position in the White House that serves as an advisor to the president on border communities. This person will direct an Interagency Task Force on Border Community Prosperity and coordinate the entire federal government’s investment in our border communities.

She will end Trump’s deployment of military forces to the border.

She will immediately stop the construction of Trump’s wall on the border between Mexico and the United States. She will also work to repeal the sections of law that allow the federal government to waive federal procurement rules or environmental impact reviews.

Despite the immediate public health threat, the Trump administration is demanding that we cut spending elsewhere to pay for emergency funding we need to prepare for and respond to coronavirus — so she is introducing a bill in the Senate to redirect funding diverted to the wall toward coronavirus instead.

She will end Constitution-Free Zones: She will  hold immigration enforcement to the same due process and standards as other law enforcement agencies — no more warrantless property searches, no more arbitrary stops, no more violations of basic Constitutional rights. 

She will reverse the Trump administration’s policy giving Border Patrol agents the power to make “credible fear” determinations for asylum-seekers rather than asylum officers.

She will invest resources in more culturally competent asylum officers and immigration judges and better coordinate a full federal government response to the humanitarian crisis at the border, just like we would with FEMA under a natural disaster.

She will pardon those convicted of providing food and water to migrants — because no one should go to jail simply for providing humanitarian aid to another person in need.

She supports requiring Custom and Border Patrol (CBP) agents to wear body cameras, a best practice in local law enforcement that reduces use-of-force incidents and increases transparency.

She will crack down on dangerous anti-immigrant vigilante militias at the border, which often include members of hate groups or individuals with a history of violence, including against U.S. citizens.

She will create a Border Health Initiative within the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to focus on strengthening these health institutions in ways that serve the unique needs of this region and its people.

She will build a 21st century border economy by investing in our ports of entry.
 

The campaign recently did a Texas Latino Engagement tour — and listened and learned from hundreds of Latino, Latina, and Latinx people in San Antonio, Laredo, McAllen, Corpus Christi, and Houston.
 
Elizabeth will be in San Antonio with former Secretary of HUD Julián Castro today.
 
Read her plan here and below
 
Justice for Border Communities
 
Communities along the U.S.-Mexico border represent a confluence of cultures, a place where people of different walks of life all pursue the American Dream. The true heart and soul of the border is found in the teenagers using their quinceñeras to register their neighbors to vote, in the Good Samaritans leaving water for desperate migrants in the desert, in the citizens of El Paso-Juarez healing in the wake of a white nationalist terrorist attack against Latinos, in community members and leaders protesting wall construction in Tucson, and in Native Americans fighting to protect their homeland and sacred sites.
 
Today the construction of Trump’s border wall is harming local communities along our borders. The Trump administration has begun blasting at Organ Pipe Cactus Monument without the permission of and meaningful consultation with the Tohono O’odham Nation. Long-time residents are seeing their property carved up. Wall construction puts border communities at risk of severe flooding. The Trump administration has ignored critical federal environmental protections, damaging wildlife refuges. And there have been far too many stories like that of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 2 year old daughter Valeria, who drowned in the Rio Grande, or of Gurupreet Kaur, who died in the Arizona desert just one month shy of turning 7-years-old.
 
But the challenges at the border did not start with Donald Trump’s ignorance and bigotry. For decades, decisions made in Washington have divided and disrupted communities, cities, Tribal Nations, and families — many of whom have lived along what is now the border for longer than the United States has even existed.
 
The 15 million residents living in our Southern borderlands — from Brownsville, Texas to San Diego, California — deserve a champion and a partner in the White House. Building an America that reflects our values means elevating the voices of those who have traditionally been overlooked and underserved. We’ve got to make sure everyone has a seat at the table, and that includes border communities and immigrant advocacy groups. In my first 100 days, I will convene a borderlands summit, bringing together federal, state, and local representatives, Tribal Nations, members of the business community, community organizations, and stakeholders to undo the harm of the Trump administration and create more prosperity in the region. I will also create a new position in the White House that serves as an advisor to the president on border communities. This person will direct an Interagency Task Force on Border Community Prosperity and coordinate the entire federal government’s investment in our border communities.
 
A Warren administration will ensure accountability in our border communities by rolling back the Trump administration’s incessant militarization of the border, creating a fair and welcoming immigration system, and respecting the rights of people and our fragile border ecosystem. I’ll fight for healthy and safe border communities with affordable housing, high-quality education, health care, and economic opportunities. And together, we’ll build a 21st century border economy by boosting small businesses, growing access to financial services, closing the digital divide, uplifting labor and environmental protections through trade, and developing the green workforce of the future.
 
Accountability in Border Communities
 
We need a federal government that’s accountable to our border communities. That means an immigration system that keeps families together, preserves our security, grows our economy, honors our Constitution, and reflects our values. That also means an approach to national security that respects the rights of people and our fragile border ecosystems. As president, my administration will:
 
Welcome those in need and protect rights and due process. My immigration plan commits to decriminalizing migration, significantly reducing detention and ending private detention facilities, providing rights and due process for all immigrants, reaffirming asylum protections for those fleeing violence, and ending policies like metering and the “Remain in Mexico” policy. As president, I’ll also reverse the Trump administration’s policy giving Border Patrol agents the power to make “credible fear” determinations for asylum-seekers rather than asylum officers. A Warren administration will invest resources in more culturally competent asylum officers and immigration judges and better coordinate a full federal government response to the humanitarian crisis at the border, just like we would with FEMA during a natural disaster. And I’ll pardon those convicted of providing food and water to migrants — because no one should go to jail simply for providing humanitarian aid to another person in need.
 
Remake CBP and ICE in a way that reflects our values. We spend billions of dollars each year on a massive and cruel immigration detention and enforcement system that breaks up families and keeps thousands locked up — with little evidence that it makes our nation safer. A Warren administration will reshape CBP and ICE from top to bottom, reducing funding for detention and instead focusing their efforts on ports of entry and homeland security efforts like screening cargo, identifying counterfeit goods, and preventing smuggling and trafficking. And to change the culture, I’ll insist on transparency and strengthen the authorities of independent internal watchdogs to prevent future abuses. I’ll designate a Justice Department task force to investigate accusations of serious violations, and give it independent authority to pursue any substantiated criminal allegations.
 
The Supreme Court ruling that a family can’t seek damages after their son was killed by a border patrol agent because he was on the Mexican side of the border when the agent shot him shows us that our system of accountability is broken. In spite of the Supreme Court’s decision, a few steps to one side of the border or another should not serve to forfeit basic rights. As president, I’ll work to reverse the decision legislatively in order to ensure accountability for victims of border patrol violence — regardless of the side of the border. Furthermore, I support requiring Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents to wear body cameras, a best practice in local law enforcement that reduces use-of-force incidents and increases transparency. And as new technology is deployed, a Warren administration will monitor violations of privacy and limit the use of facial-recognition software. Let there be no ambiguity on this: if you are violating the basic rights of immigrants, now or in the future, a Warren administration will hold you accountable.
 
Stop Trump’s Militarization of the Border. Despite Trump’s rhetoric, the people seeking asylum at the southern border are not a threat to our national security. And Trump’s wall is a monument to hate — and only the latest attempt to treat the southern border as a war zone rather than as a vibrant community. Many of the apprehensions at the border are families and children who commonly turn themselves in to Border Patrol to apply for asylum. This is a humanitarian crisis in need of medical doctors, immigration lawyers, and social workers — not military troops. As president, I will end Trump’s deployment of military forces to the border. I’ve listened to communities at the border when they say we do not need Trump’s failed wall, and I will immediately stop the construction of Trump’s wall on the border between Mexico and the United States. I will also work to repeal the sections of law that allow the federal government to waive federal procurement rules or environmental impact reviews. Despite the immediate public health threat, the Trump administration is demanding that we cut spending elsewhere to pay for emergency funding we need to prepare for and respond to coronavirus — so I am introducing a bill in the Senate to redirect funding diverted to the wall toward coronavirus instead. We need to get our priorities straight and focus on keeping the American people safe, rather than funding some useless vanity project. Let’s be clear: our border communities are not a war zone.
 
End Constitution-Free Zones. CBP has the authority to operate within 100 miles of any “external boundary” — an area deep into the interior of the country that covers about 200 million people, including 9 of the 10 largest U.S. cities. The Border Patrol operates numerous immigration checkpoints and regularly stops people to check their immigration status, raising concerns about racial profiling and violations of the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections. During natural disasters and daily life, immigrant families are afraid to travel freely in their own communities. Citizens of Tribal Nations such as the Tohono O’odham Nation who have tribal ID cards face unnecessary hurdles with border patrol checkpoints. Agents also have the authority to enter private property (except dwellings) 25 miles from the border, which includes almost all of El Paso. There is no reason Border Patrol agents should have special access to private property without receiving a warrant from a judge just like the rest of law enforcement. As president, I will hold immigration enforcement to the same due process and standards as other law enforcement agencies — no more warrantless property searches, no more arbitrary stops, no more violations of basic Constitutional rights. It’s time to rein in CBP, and ensure everyone’s rights are respected.
 
Root Out White Nationalism. We need to call out white nationalism for what it is—domestic terrorism. It is a threat to American safety and security. In a Warren administration, we will use every tool we have to defeat it, and that includes from within our military, our law enforcement, and our immigration enforcement agencies. To start, I will instruct these federal agencies to tighten their background check processes and to better track incidents of bias crimes and reports of affiliation with white nationalist or neo-Nazi groups in their ranks. Extremist ideology is a threat to our values, and it has no place inside our government. As part of my plan to reshape ICE and CBP, I’ve said that I will strengthen the authorities of independent internal watchdogs to prevent future abuses. This includes tasking the Inspectors General at both agencies to focus explicitly on reports of bias crimes or racism on the job. A Warren administration will have zero tolerance for these types of infractions.
 
From the 1918 Porvenir massacre through today, we must also recognize the long history of racist violence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Tragically, we have seen how this horrific history repeated itself just last August, when a white nationalist, directly echoing the rhetoric of President Trump, drove hundreds of miles to commit an act of terror against the people of El Paso. As I laid out in my plan to combat white nationalism, combatting white nationalist crime will be a top priority for the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security in a Warren administration. My administration will also work with federal and local law enforcement to crack down on dangerous anti-immigrant vigilante militias at the border, which often include members of hate groups or individuals with a history of violence, including against U.S. citizens.

Respect Tribal Sovereignty. My plan for public lands includes aggressive steps to stop private interests from pillaging sacred lands. I will use all legal authorities, including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, to protect sacred sites like Organ Pipe. And absent extraordinary circumstances, respect for tribal sovereignty means that no project, development or federal decision that will have a significant impact on a tribal community, their lands, resources, members or religious practices, should proceed without the free, prior, and informed consent of the Tribal Nation concerned. I have also called for a new Sacred Lands Religious Freedom Restoration Act to dramatically improve the ability of Tribal Nations to block the imposition of development, extraction, and land use decisions with respect to tribal lands.
 
Fighting for Safe, Healthy, High-Quality Living on the Border
 
A generation of barely budging wages and rising costs for basics like housing, health care, child care, and education have squeezed family budgets. Many families living in communities at our borders are hanging on by their fingernails.
 
A lack of affordable housing and decades of systemic discrimination has driven hundreds of thousands of people, predominantly U.S. citizens of Mexican-descent, in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California to live in neighborhoods, called colonias, without basic necessities like potable water, electricity, and safe housing. Border communities have uninsured rates that are much higher than the national average and have some of the highest rates of chronic diseases like diabetes in the country. In the colonias in Texas, over 50% of adults do not have a high school diploma.
 
A Warren administration will:
 
Invest in safe and affordable housing for all. My Housing Plan for America invests $500 billion over the next ten years to build, preserve, and rehab more than three million units that will be affordable to lower-income families — including $523 million to create 380,000 affordable rental homes in rural communities and $2.5 billion to build or rehabilitate 200,000 homes on tribal lands, where overcrowding, homelessness, and substandard housing have reached crisis levels. My plan will lower rents by 10%, reform land-use rules that restrict affordable housing construction and further racial segregation, and take a critical first step towards closing the racial wealth gap. My plan to protect and empower renters tackles the growing cost of rent, strengthens fair housing law and enforcement, fights for a nationwide right to counsel for low-income tenants in eviction proceedings, and creates a national small dollar grant program to help make sure families aren’t evicted because of financial emergencies.
 

My administration will also take on “land contracts” agreements, predatory loans that are frequently targeted at communities of color and are prevalent in border communities. In these contracts, tenant-buyers can be subject to unjust eviction proceedings, homes can be in such bad condition they’re basically uninhabitable, interest rates exorbitantly high, and in the case of some colonias, developers have failed to provide basic infrastructure like a sewer system or paved roads. And because of the “forfeiture clause” embedded in these kinds of agreements, if tenants fall behind on these high-interest payments, lenders can seize the property — and keep the payments that have been made as “liquidated damages.” Texas is one state that has moved toward increasing protections after a certain amount has been paid, but there’s more we can do. I’ll choose a CFPB Director committed to reining in land contracts, work with states to require that these contracts be recorded to collect better data and formalize land titling, and strengthen protections and rights of these residents to ensure their property isn’t lost to exploitative practices and can be passed onto future generations.
 

Protect Clean Water. Clean water is vital to our health and welfare and to our economy. But decades of environmental racism have allowed corporate polluters to pump dangerous amounts of pollution into our border communities and unaccountable developers to leave these communities without the resources and infrastructure to take it on. 30% of people living in colonias don’t have safe drinking water. Meanwhile, border communities have been battling toxic waste dumping in their neighborhoods. And yet, Trump’s 2021 budget proposal eliminates much of the federal money allocated for water and wastewater projects that could have been used to work towards clean drinking water in border regions.
 
A Warren administration will invest in our nation’s water systems. I have committed to fully capitalize the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to refurbish old water infrastructure and support ongoing water treatment operations and maintenance, prioritizing the communities most heavily impacted by inadequate water infrastructure. I will also fully enforce Safe Drinking Water Act standards for all public water systems and aggressively regulate chemicals that make their way into our water supply, including from agricultural runoff. I’ll restore all funding to water and wastewater projects the Trump administration has proposed to eliminate. And, for the thousands of people who rely on private sources for drinking water, a Warren administration will fight for adequate funding so that everyone can have access to safe water. I’ll also make giant agribusinesses pay the full costs of the environmental damage they wreak on the border communities that surround them by closing the loopholes that they use to get away with polluting and by beefing up enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts against them.
 
Guarantee High-Quality Health Care. Border communities face unique health care challenges. Poor coverage means that people cross from Imperial County, California or Southwest Arizona to Los Algodones, Mexico for affordable dental care. The majority of counties along the Southern border have limited access to maternity care. People in need of reproductive care in the Rio Grande Valley are facing barriers to care due to clinic closures, traveling hundreds of miles, and facing long waiting periods.
 

Health care is a human right and that’s why we need Medicare for All. Under Medicare for All, every single person in this country will be able to see the doctor they need and get their recommended treatments. As president, I will immediately act to lower the cost of prescription drugs, using every available tool to bring pressure on the big drug companies and bring down the high costs of many common prescription drugs, including Insulin. And within 100 days, I’ll work with Congress to expand coverage to every American by expanding Medicare and creating a Medicare for All option that is free for all kids and families at or below 200 percent of poverty.
 

While we work to deliver Medicare for All, a Warren administration will roll back the Trump administration’s efforts to rip health coverage away from people. The Trump administration’s reinterpretation of Section 1557 would undermine critical nondiscrimination protections, weakening requirements to make health information language-accessible. As president, I will direct HHS to reinstate the Obama administration’s 2016 guidance that fully upholds civil rights and nondiscrimination protections. I’ll roll back the Trump administration’s Public Charge rule change, which is harming immigrants with disabilities and forcing immigrant families to choose between staying together and ensuring their children can get critical services. And I’ll reverse the Trump administration’s harmful Medicaid policies, like work requirements and block grants, that take coverage away from low-income individuals and families.
 
Strengthen the Health System. While coverage is critical, it’s only part of ensuring access to high-quality care. We also have a responsibility to make sure that places that have experienced a loss in services or are otherwise medically underserved get support to improve their health systems and meet the needs of their communities.
 
That’s why I’ve committed to protecting health care in rural communities by creating a new designation under Medicare for rural hospitals, ending the harmful effects of consolidation, and dramatically increasing funding for Community Health Centers. I will also establish a $25 billion dollar capital fund to support a menu of options for improving care in health professional shortage areas, including: constructing a new facility like a Community Health Center, Rural Health Clinic, School-Based Health Center, or birthing center; expanding capacity or services at an existing clinic; establishing pharmacy services or a telemedicine program; supporting a diabetes self-management education program; improving transportation to the nearest hospital; or piloting models like mobile clinics and community paramedicine programs. A Warren administration will also expand our health care workforce by investing more resources in building the pipeline of culturally-competent and language-inclusive medical professionals in rural areas and other areas with shortages, from physicians to promotoras.
 
But we also need to support robust public health efforts to keep these communities healthy and prepared to handle potential outbreaks — and to work in partnership with the international community, including Mexico, in our global health response. That’s why I’ve committed to fully fund the critical agencies that support our public health infrastructure. To double down on this commitment in the border region, I will also create a Border Health Initiative within the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to focus on strengthening these institutions in ways that serve the unique needs of this region and its people.
 
Fight for high-quality education from the earliest years through college. 33 of the 44 counties along the Southern border are non-metropolitan counties. Today, a majority of rural communities lack sufficient access to child care. My plan for Universal Child Care will provide high-quality child care free for millions and affordable for everyone. My administration will also work closely with local providers and tribal governments to make sure there are high-quality child care options available in every community — including home-based child care services. And as part of a comprehensive early childhood education system, I will ensure all children can attend free high-quality universal pre-K.
 
As president, I will make a historic $800 billion investment in our nation’s public schools, supporting students in the classroom and preparing them for college and career readiness. I’ll invest at least an additional $50 billion in school infrastructure across the country – targeted at the schools that need it most. My Environmental Justice plan establishes a lead abatement grant program focused on schools. And I will fully fund the Bureau of Indian Education schools to support major construction and repair backlogs.
 
I’m also committed to protecting English Language Learners by enforcing their rights to meaningful access to rigorous coursework, teachers, special education services, and integration with the rest of the student body, while fostering their home language. And I will protect the rights of immigrant students, ensuring that all immigrant children have access to a quality education, no matter their native language, national origin, or immigration status.
 
Border states are facing an acute teacher shortage. My administration will treat teachers and staff like the professionals they are by strengthening the ability of educators to organize and bargain for just compensation and ensure that educators aren’t drowning in debt. I’ll also build a more diverse teacher and school leadership pipeline by investing in Grow Your Own and teacher residency programs. And I will push to fully fund the Teacher Quality Partnership program to support teacher residency programs in high-need areas, like rural communities, and in areas of expertise like Special Education and Bilingual Education.
 
My student debt cancellation and universal public college plan will cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for more than 95% of Americans who carry it and make two-year or four-year public college or technical school free. My plan also makes a minimum $50 billion investment in HBCUs, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other Minority-Serving Institutions.
 
Prevent Gun Violence in Border Communities and in Mexico. After Trump, we’ll have work to do to restore our relationship with our Mexican neighbors. One area where we can begin to make improvements immediately is in stopping the flow of American guns to Mexico. As Mexico struggles with record violence, Americans must face the fact that our weak gun laws have not only fed an epidemic of gun violence at home, but are also a leading driver of instability among our neighbors. This instability in turn is displacing people across Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, feeding the humanitarian crisis that border communities in both the U.S. and Mexico are facing today. I will fight to end gun violence, recognizing that this is part of addressing the root causes of migration and improving our relationship with Mexico. And as president, I will pass a new federal anti-trafficking law making clear “straw purchases” are a federal crime and prosecute gun traffickers by instructing my Attorney General to go after the transnational gun trade with all the resources of the federal government.

Building a 21st Century Border Economy
 
A thriving border economy is crucial to the economic wellbeing of the rest of our country. And when Trump has threatened to shut it down, the ramifications have been felt quickly and acutely. In 2018, a 5 hour border crossing closure at San Ysidro in California — the busiest land border crossing in the world — cost local businesses $5.3 million. We need a strong border economy that works for everyone. That means investments in local small businesses, growing access to financial services, closing the digital divide, trade that uplifts labor and environmental protections, and developing the green workforce of the future.
 
Boosting Small Businesses. Small businesses are essential to the prosperity of border communities, but these businesses have been harmed by increased border militarization and Trump’s reckless tariff by tweet approach to trade. People along the U.S.-Mexico border also confront barriers to accessing the capital and financial services necessary to start and grow their businesses — barriers that disproportionately affect Latino, Native American, and Black entrepreneurs. My comprehensive agenda to boost America’s small businesses will level the playing field for small business owners on the border by providing access to credit, helping small businesses deal with regulatory requirements, and unleashing the full purchasing power of the federal government to support small businesses.
 
Protecting and Expanding Financial Services. The number of rural counties without a locally owned community bank has doubled since 1994, and border communities are increasingly becoming banking deserts. I’ve proposed allowing the U.S. Postal Service to partner with local community banks and credit unions to provide access to low-cost, basic banking services online and at post offices. A Warren Administration will also strengthen lending to small businesses in underserved areas by expanding support for Community Development Financial Institutions, which provide an important source of funding for women, people of color, and rural communities. As president, my administration will also protect immigrant families sending remittances by enacting stronger rules at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau around remittances to ensure fees are transparent, and I will oppose President Trump’s proposed tax on remittances that targets wire transfers to Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean to pay for his wall.
 
Extend Broadband to Border Communities. The communities along the U.S.-Mexico border have some of the lowest levels of internet connectivity in the nation. This digital divide is a major barrier for people to find jobs, students to complete homework, small business to connect to new markets, and it holds back the entire community. That’s why as president, I will make it clear in federal statute that municipalities have the right to build their own broadband networks and establish a new $85 billion federal grant program to massively expand broadband access across the country. I will also require all telecommunications services to contribute fairly into the Universal Service Fund to shore up essential universal service programs that provide subsidies to low-income individuals, schools, and libraries to increase broadband adoption – because every home in America deserves a fiber broadband connection at a price families can afford.
 
Decreasing Wait Times. Under the Trump Administration, wait times at ports of entry are dramatically increasing, reducing trade and commerce and even impacting air quality for surrounding communities. Every day almost $2 billion worth of products crosses the U.S.-Mexico border, but delays in Texas can exceed 10 hours — this is unacceptable. In places like Deming, New Mexico, students pushed across the border because of unaffordable housing or to be with deported family members get up at dawn to wait hours through highly-militarized security checks to make it to school on the U.S.-side on time. An estimated 40,000 children cross the U.S.-Mexico border for school every day.  First, we will invest in dedicated pedestrian lanes for both U.S. citizens and students, and the “All Lanes Open Initiative” so that there is better traffic flow during the morning rush and expand the program to include evenings. We also need to completely repeal the “hardening measures,” such as concrete barriers topped with razor wire, and limit “tactical exercises” that create choke points and slow down traffic. With the passage of the USMCA, we will increase the number of custom officials and invest in modern technology to more efficiently and effectively inspect and verify goods.
 
Leveling the Playing Field with Trade. As a Senator, I voted for the USMCA — the revised NAFTA agreement. I supported the agreement because it made some improvements for American workers, farmers, and consumers, and Mexican workers too. It guarantees the right to organize for Mexican workers, provides for new investments in combating pollution such as $300 million to stop cross-border sewage flows, and strengthens diplomatic ties with our neighbors at a time that President Trump seeks to divide us.

But we will do much better for border communities in a Warren administration. We need a new approach to trade that works for Americans who have been left behind, including the communities on the U.S.-Mexico border. Instead of pursuing a race to the bottom when it comes to worker’s rights and environmental protection, it is time to use our leverage of the American market to encourage other countries, including Mexico, to elevate their policies. When we raise labor and environmental standards worldwide, we help millions of people living abroad and let American workers compete on a more level playing field.
 
Building the Green Workforce of the Future. Border states are emerging as leaders of the new green economy. Texas is the leading producer of wind energy in the country, California is the leading producer of solar energy, and clean energy investments in New Mexico and Arizona are on the rise. To really bend the curve on climate, we’ll need sustained big, structural change across a range of industries and sectors. My administration will commit to investments in retraining, joint labor management apprenticeships, and creating strong career pipelines to ensure a continuous supply of skilled, available workers. And, we will look for every opportunity to partner with high schools and vocational schools to build pathways to the middle class for kids who opt not to go to college. Outside experts that have looked at my ideas for a Green New Deal to analyze how they will drive job creation have estimated that they will create 10.6 million new green jobs. That means millions of new clean energy jobs in border states and honoring our commitments and a just transition for fossil fuel workers, so that no one is left behind.
 
Honoring our Border Servicemembers and Veterans. Military bases and military families are key drivers of local border economies, from the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma to Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio. Rather than defunding military projects — like military base child care facilities — to build Trump’s “wall”, we should be investing in military readiness, infrastructure, and veterans and their families. From military housing and child care to a 21st century VA system, I will keep our promise to care for our nation’s veterans, service members, and military families.

Read the plan here

Democrats 2020, Donald Trump, Election 2020, Health Care, National Security

Sanders to Trump on Coronavirus: Stop Playing Politics With Our Health and National Security

“Concern about the coronavirus continues to grow, yet the Trump administration’s response has been inadequate, misleading, and dangerous,” declared Senator Bernie Sanders after Trump appointed Mike Pence to lead the administration’s response to the pandemic. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday issued the following statement on the Trump administration’s response to coronavirus: 

“Concern about the coronavirus continues to grow, yet the Trump administration’s response has been inadequate, misleading, and dangerous. By picking Vice President Mike Pence to lead the administration’s response to the pandemic, Trump has not only chosen someone completely unqualified, but the president has made clear that he’s more concerned about his own politics than the health and safety of the country.

“In my view, the Trump administration must take immediate action. First, they must replace Mike Pence with an expert on pandemics and disaster response. Second, the Trump administration must stop releasing misleading, unscientific, and false information about whether the coronavirus is controlled or when it will be controlled. Third, they must immediately staff their response team with experts and scientists to help us address a pandemic based on facts – Steve Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow are political cronies, not scientists. In addition, Trump must sign the full $8.5 billion in coronavirus response funding proposed by Sen. Chuck Schumer.

“We need a president who does not play politics with our health and national security. Besides passing Medicare for All so everyone can see a doctor or get a vaccine for free, my administration will greatly expand funding for the Center for Disease Control and National Institute of Health, work with the international community, including with the World Health Organization, and invest in research and technology to make vaccines available quickly,” Sanders stated.

Democrats 2020, Election 2020, News & Photo Features, Politics, Progressive Policies

Democratic Race for 2020: Sanders Answers the Burning Question: How Would He Pay for his Progressive Agenda?

One of the most severe criticisms of Senator Bernie Sanders’ candidacy is the price tag of his progressive programs including Medicare for All, College for All, universal child care and pre-K, and Green New Deal and how these programs would be paid for. In the Charleston, SC debate (number 10 for anyone who is counting), Senator Amy Klobuchar charged that his plans, collectively, would cost $60 trillion, or three times the entire US economy. Now, just ahead of the South Carolina and Super Tuesday primaries, Sanders has released his plan to pay for his major policy proposals, which he handed to Chris Cuomo during a CNN town hall on February 24:

Senator Bernie Sanders, running for president, has released his plan to pay for his major policy proposals, including Medicare for All, College for All, universal child care and pre-K, and Green New Deal © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com \

College For All

It will cost $2.2 trillion to make public colleges, universities and trade schools tuition free and to cancel all student debt over the next decade.  It is fully paid for by a modest tax on Wall Street speculation that will raise an estimated $2.4 trillion over ten years.

https://berniesanders.com/issues/free-college-cancel-debt/

Expanding Social Security

Bernie’s bill to expand Social Security will increase benefits for low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities by more than $1,300 a year.  It is fully paid for by making the wealthiest 1.8% of Americans – those with incomes over $250,000 a year – pay the same rate into Social Security as working families.

This bill will also extend the solvency of Social Security into the year 2070 – ensuring that Social Security can pay every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 50 years.

https://berniesanders.com/issues/expand-social-security/


Housing for All

Bernie’s proposal to guarantee housing as a human right and to eliminate homelessness will cost $2.5 trillion over the next decade.

It is fully paid for by a wealth tax on the top one-tenth of one percent – those who have a net worth of at least $32 million.  (Bernie’s wealth tax will raise a total of $4.35 trillion.)

https://berniesanders.com/issues/housing-all/

https://berniesanders.com/issues/tax-extreme-wealth/
 

Universal Childcare/Pre-K

Bernie’s proposal to guarantee universal childcare and pre-school to every family in America who needs it will cost $1.5 trillion.

It is fully paid for by a wealth tax on the top one-tenth of one percent – those who have a net worth of at least $32 million.  (Bernie’s wealth tax will raise a total of $4.35 trillion.)

https://berniesanders.com/issues/tax-extreme-wealth/

Eliminating Medical Debt

Bernie has introduced a proposal to eliminate all of the $81 billion in past due medical debt held by 79 million Americans.  It is fully paid for by establishing an income inequality tax on large corporations that pay CEOs at least 50 times more than average workers.  

https://berniesanders.com/issues/tax-extreme-wealth/

Green New Deal

The $16.3 trillion climate change proposal that Bernie has introduced will fundamentally transform our energy system away from fossil fuel and towards energy efficiency and renewable energy.  It will also create 20 million good-paying union jobs in the process.

It is fully paid for by:

– Raising $3.085 trillion by making the fossil fuel industry pay for their pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes, and eliminating federal fossil fuel subsidies.

– Generating $6.4 trillion in revenue from the wholesale of energy produced by the regional Power Marketing Administrations.  This revenue will be collected from 2023-2035, and after 2035 electricity will be virtually free, aside from operations and maintenance costs.

–  Reducing defense spending by $1.215 trillion by scaling back military operations on protecting the global oil supply.

–  Collecting $2.3 trillion in new income tax revenue from the 20 million new jobs created by the plan.

– Saving $1.31 trillion by reduced the need for federal and state safety net spending due to the creation of millions of good-paying, unionized jobs.

–  Raising $2 trillion in revenue by making large corporations pay their fair share of taxes.

Key Points:

By averting climate catastrophe we will save: $2.9 trillion over 10 years, $21 trillion over 30 years and $70.4 trillion over 80 years. 
 

If we do not act, the U.S. will lose $34.5 trillion by the end of the century in economic productivity.

https://berniesanders.com/issues/tax-extreme-wealth/

Medicare for All

According to a February 15, 2020 study by epidemiologists at Yale University, the Medicare for All bill that Bernie wrote would save over $450 billion in health care costs and prevent 68,000 unnecessary deaths – each and every year.

Since 2016, Bernie has proposed a menu of financing options that would more than pay for the Medicare for All legislation he has introduced according to the Yale study.

These options include:

Creating a 4 percent income-based premium paid by employees, exempting the first $29,000 in income for a family of four.

In 2018, the typical working family paid an average of $6,015 in premiums to private health insurance companies.  Under this option, a typical family of four earning $60,000, would pay a 4 percent income-based premium to fund Medicare for All on income above $29,000 – just $1,240 a year – saving that family $4,775 a year.  Families of four making less than $29,000 a year would not pay this premium.

(Revenue raised: About $4 trillion over 10-years.)
 

Imposing a 7.5 percent income-based premium paid by employers, exempting the first $1 million in payroll to protect small businesses.

In 2018, employers paid an average of $14,561 in private health insurance premiums for a worker with a family of four.  Under this option, employers would pay a 7.5 percent payroll tax to help finance Medicare for All – just $4,500 – a savings of more than $10,000 a year.

(Revenue raised: Over $5.2 trillion over 10-years.)
 

Eliminating health tax expenditures, which would no longer be needed under Medicare for All.
 
(Revenue raised: About $3 trillion over 10-years.) 
 

Raising the top marginal income tax rate to 52% on income over $10 million.

(Revenue raised: About $700 billion over 10-years.)
 

Replacing the cap on the state and local tax deduction with an overall dollar cap of $50,000 for a married couple on all itemized deductions. 

(Revenue raised: About $400 billion over 10-years.)
 

Taxing capital gains at the same rates as income from wages and cracking down on gaming through derivatives, like-kind exchanges, and the zero tax rate on capital gains passed on through bequests.

(Revenue raised: About $2.5 trillion over 10-years.)
 

Enacting the For the 99.8% Act, which returns the estate tax exemption to the 2009 level of $3.5 million, closes egregious loopholes, and increases rates progressively including by adding a top tax rate of 77% on estate values in excess of $1 billion.

(Revenue raised: $336 billion over 10-years.)
 

Enacting corporate tax reform including restoring the top federal corporate income tax rate to 35 percent.

(Revenue raised: $3 trillion of which $1 trillion would be used to help finance Medicare for All and $2 trillion would be used for the Green New Deal.)
 

Using $350 billion of the amount raised from the tax on extreme wealth to help finance Medicare for All.

​​​ 

Democrats 2020, Election 2020, Infrastructure, News & Photo Features

Democratic Race for 2020: Mayor Pete Buttigieg Releases ‘Building for 21st Century’ Infrastructure Plan

Mayor Pete Buttigieg released his “Building for the 21st Century” comprehensive infrastructure plan. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The vigorous contest of Democrats seeking the 2020 presidential nomination has produced excellent policy proposals to address major issue. It is estimated that the United States requires some $2 trillion in infrastructure investment just to keep bridges from falling down, make necessary improvements to water systems, electric systems, not to mention transition to sustainable systems that both mitigate against climate change and take the necessary steps to get to net-zero carbon emissions to stop the march to global warming. Mayor Pete Buttigieg released his “Building for the 21st Century” comprehensive infrastructure plan. It does not use the word “climate”; it refers to “sustainable” once. This is from the Buttigieg campaign:

Pete Buttigieg released “Building for the 21st Century,” a bold, comprehensive infrastructure plan that will create more economic opportunities for individuals and communities. His plan will create 6 million well-paying jobs, ensure that everyone has access to clean drinking water and affordable ways to get to work and empower local communities to lead on infrastructure development so that they can support safe, vibrant, growing neighborhoods.

“The current administration has been incapable of keeping its promise to pass major infrastructure legislation, and as a result, critical projects around the country are stalled and communities are paying the price,” said Buttigieg. “Cities and towns have been leading the way on new infrastructure partnerships and approaches, but too often the federal government does not help as it should—failing to fund and prioritize infrastructure and relying on outdated standards. Under my administration, local governments will finally have a partner in Washington. As a former mayor, I know that priority-based budgets made locally are better than budget-based priorities set in Washington.” 

Pete’s administration will invest over $1 trillion to work with states, cities, and other local governments to build the sustainable infrastructure of the 21st century. Pete’s plan will:

Create six million well-paying jobs with strong labor protections, especially in underrepresented communities. 

Commit $10 billion to attract and train a skilled infrastructure workforce, including by supporting pre-apprenticeship programs that collaborate with Registered Apprenticeships. 

Protect millions of families from lead in paint and water through a $100 billion investment in a Lead-Safe Communities Fund. The Fund will provide resources for communities to clean up and remove lead in paint, soil, and water. Pete administration’s will also replace 3 million lead service lines by 2030 and support best-in-class corrosion control practices. 

Lower water bills for over 10 million families. Pete will work with Congress to create a $16 billion Drinking Water Assistance Matching Fund that coordinates with the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The Fund will provide a federal funding match for states and local water systems that assist low-income families with water bill payments, slashing the average water bill by 50 percent – which is equal to over $600 on average – for 10 million families. 

Invest $160 billion to support cities and towns in providing equitable public transportation, including improved options for subway, light rail, bus rapid transit, and last mile service. Pete will provide dedicated funding for communities that have limited access to basic services like grocery stores to expand their transportation options. He will also dramatically expand funding for rural public transportation.

Cut the backlog of critical road repairs in half over 10 years. Pete will make sure that 50% of our roads in poor condition and structurally deficient bridges get fixed within 10 years. His DOT will require states to develop achievable plans for maintaining their roads and make progress on these plans before they use federal funds for new roads or expansions. 

Repair school infrastructure. Investing in K-12 education means investing in our schools, so students can learn in a safe and healthy environment. Pete will invest $80 billion in a new school repair program, in which states allocate grants and loans to school districts based on poverty levels. He will provide dedicated funding to help meet U.S. trust and treaty obligations to repair the Bureau of Indian Education schools. 

Mitigate past injustices in transportation planning. Since the 1950s, highway expansion projects have split apart Black and Latino neighborhoods nationwide and driven up pollution in these communities. Pete’s DOT will work with local stakeholders and nonprofits to create a list of communities that require additional investment to mitigate harms from past highway projects. He will encourage cities to use federal highway funds to revitalize and reconnect communities through innovative projects, including new underpass designs, highway caps, and turning underutilized bridges into complete urban streets.   

Pete’s agenda will build a new era of economic success that truly uplifts America’s working and middle-class families. Read the full agenda HERE. 

Democrats 2020, Economic Development, Economic Policies, Economy, Election 2020, Inequality, News & Photo Features, Tax Policy

Democratic Race for 2020: Pete Buttigieg Announces New Steps To Rebalance the Economy in Favor of American Families

Pete Buttigieg, stepping up his progressive bona fides, offered his plan to rebalance the economy in favor of American families, while ensuring the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.© Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The vigorous contest of Democrats seeking the 2020 presidential nomination has produced excellent policy proposals to address major issues. Pete Buttigieg, stepping up his progressive bona fides, offered his plan to rebalance the economy in favor of American families, while ensuring the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. This is from the Buttigieg campaign:

Los Angeles, CA – Today, Pete Buttigieg announced a series of proposals to rebalance the economy in favor of American families while ensuring the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. 

Pete is announcing a series of proposals that will provide tax relief to the 98% of American households that aren’t in the richest 2%, including expanding the child tax credit to reduce child poverty by 2.5 million, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit by an average of $1,000 per year for 35 million American families and rolling back the Trump administration’s cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT), which disproportionately hurts states like California in their efforts to enact more progressive tax policies. 

At the same time, Pete will hold Wall Street and corporations accountable for paying their fair share. As president, Pete will roll back the Trump and Reagan-era tax cuts on millionaires and billionaires, impose a Financial Transaction Tax and make big banks pay for financial crisis risk to ensure Wall Street no longer takes advantage of Main Street, and crack down on multinational corporations shipping profits and jobs overseas.  

“This president has done everything in his power to line the pockets of corporations and the wealthy, while too many working and middle class families are having to choose between child care and saving for college, and while homeownership remains out of reach for millions,” said Pete Buttigieg. “As president, I will rebalance our economy so it works for all Americans, hold Wall Street and corporations accountable, and bring fairness to our tax system so we can lift millions out of poverty and into greater opportunity.”

Pete’s plans to achieve tax fairness in America include:

  1. Expanding the Child Tax Credit to reduce child poverty by 2.5 million

Under the Trump administration, housing and health care costs have outstripped working-class wages. As President, Pete will rebalance the economy in favor of working and middle class Americans by making the current Child Tax Credit fully refundable, so every family earning under $400,000 receives $2,000 per child per year in refundable tax relief. He will also create an additional $1,000 refundable Young Child Tax Credit for children under 6. These policies will lift 2.5 million children out of poverty, including 1.5 million Black and Latino children.

  • Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit. 

Pete will expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and grow workers’ incomes by an average of $1,000 per year for 35 million American households. This tax cut will help put more money in the hands of workers and middle class families by offsetting income taxes and other taxes that eat into workers’ take home pay. 

  • Removing Trump’s punitive cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) for households earning less than $400,000.  

SALT avoids penalizing states and cities in high-cost areas and with robust social services, by allowing families to pay state and local taxes out of pre-federal-income-tax dollars and thereby avoid double taxation. In the 2017 Republican tax bill, while at the same time as providing tax breaks to corporations and millionaires, Trump placed a politically motivated cap on SALT. Trump’s economic adviser gloated that it would deliver “death to Democrats” by hurting families in Democratic-leaning states with high costs of living and more progressive tax policies and social services. Removing the SALT cap for families undoes Trump’s politically motivated tax increase and enables governors and mayors across the country to enact progressive tax policies. 

These efforts bring Pete’s total direct investments in the working and middle class families to $6 trillion and, in combination with his other policy proposals, will cut child poverty in half. He makes an additional $3 trillion of long-term investments in climate resilience, strengthening our infrastructure, and protecting Social Security for American workers and families. 

At the same time as providing tax relief to working and middle class Americans, Pete will hold Wall Street, corporations and the wealthy accountable to pay their fair share by:

  1. Rolling back the Trump and Reagan-era tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. 

Pete will raise the total effective tax rate on millionaires from 31% to 49%, rolling back the Trump and Reagan-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and the corporations they own. In rolling back these tax cuts – which lined the pockets of corporations, millionaires and billionaires – Pete will achieve historic tax fairness by raising $9 trillion from corporations, Wall Street, and the top 2% over the next ten years and will raise over $5 trillion from wealth and wealth income.

  • Holding Wall Street accountable through a Financial Transaction Tax and by making banks pay for financial risk. 

It’s time that Wall Street be held accountable for taking advantage of Main Street. As president, Pete will impose a .1% financial transaction tax on all stock and other securities trades to curb inequality and Wall Street gambling that causes “flash crashes”. Pete will also make big banks pay every year for the extra financial crisis risk they pose: the bigger and more threatening the bank, the more tax they have to pay. Together, these policies will raise $900 billion to pay for tax relief for working and middle class Americans and to invest in priorities like education, infrastructure and protecting Social Security. 

  • Cracking down on corporations shipping profits and jobs overseas. 

Foreign profits of U.S. multinational corporations are currently taxed at only 10.5% and on a weak “global basis” instead of a strong “per-country basis”. As president, Pete will increase the tax on corporate profits made abroad on a per-country basis at a 28-35% rate to ensure that multinational companies are held accountable when they ship profits and jobs overseas. This will raise over $700 billion to pay for tax relief for working and middle class Americans and to invest in priorities like education, infrastructure and long-term care for ailing seniors. 

Democrats 2020, Education, Election 2020, Women's Issues

Democratic Race for 2020: Sanders Releases Plan to Guarantee Child Care and Pre-K for All

Senator Bernie Sanders, running to win the Democratic nomination for President is releasing what he claims is “the most comprehensive and expansive early childhood policy ever proposed by a candidate running for president.” © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The vigorous contest of Democrats seeking the 2020 presidential nomination has produced excellent policy proposals to address major issues. Senator Bernie Sanders is releasing what he says is “the most comprehensive and expansive early childhood policy ever proposed by a candidate running for president,” except that he does not attach a price tag nor say how it will be paid for. Separately, in a “60 Minutes” interview, he said the undetermined amount would be paid for from a wealth tax (Senator Elizabeth Warren has said the same thing, except she attaches dollar figures to her proposal.) This is from the Sanders campaign:

Sen. Bernie Sanders released the most comprehensive and expansive early childhood policy ever proposed by a candidate running for president, including guaranteeing free, high-quality child care for all children from infancy and pre-k starting at age three.

“Childcare must be guaranteed for every child regardless of their parents’ income, just like K-12 education. We know that the first four years of a child’s life are the most important years of human development, so it is unconscionable that in the wealthiest country in the world, we do not properly invest in early childhood education.” Sanders said. “As president, we will guarantee free, universal childcare and pre-kindergarten to every child in America to help level the playing field, create new and good jobs, and enable parents more easily balance the demands of work and home.” 

Today in America, our child care and pre-kindergarten system is failing our children, our parents, and our child care and early education workers. Not only is our child care infrastructure and access to high-quality care and early learning lacking throughout the country, child care is unaffordable in every single state in America.

The average family in America today spends nearly $10,000 a year on child care. For low-income families, the burden is even higher: a full 35 percent of these families’ income goes toward child care. According to a survey conducted last year, over half of mothers worked less hours to save on child care costs, and a quarter of moms left the workforce entirely due to care for their children. 

Our dysfunctional system also punishes the people who take care of, nurture, and educate our youngest children. Child care workers, on average, make just $11 an hour despite the skyrocketing costs of child care and early education. Even though they take on the most important job in America – caring for our children – child care workers, 96 percent of whom are women and are disproportionately women of color, are paid starvation wages.

In the richest country in the history of the world, we have a moral responsibility as a nation to guarantee high-quality care and education for every single child, regardless of background or family income. We owe it to our children, parents, and child care workers to do much better. 

As President, Bernie will:

Guarantee every child in America free full-day, full-week, high-quality child care from infancy through age three, regardless of income.  

Provide child care at least 10 hours a day and ensure programs operate at times to serve parents who work non-traditional hours.  

Guarantee every child access to a full-day, full-week pre-kindergarten education, regardless of income, starting at age 3.  

Ensure students with disabilities receive the support they need and are included with their peers from an early age.  

Double funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, which supports home visiting services from  nurses, mental health professionals, social workers, and other support professionals for families with young children who live in low-income and at-risk communities.  

Pass Bernie’s Universal School Meals Act that he introduced with Rep. Ilhan Omar to provide year-round, free universal school meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks — to every child in child care and pre-k.  

Construct, renovate, or rehabilitate the child care facilities and pre-schools we need throughout the country.  

Enact Bernie’s Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education to make transformative investments in our public education system to ensure the developmental gains made by implementing universal child care and pre-k are built upon when children start their K-12 education and:  

More than double the number of early childhood educators in this country from over 1.3 million to more than 2.6 million.    

Guarantee everyone working in the field of early education a living wage, ensure all are compensated commensurate with their experience and training, and ensure all lead teachers are paid no less than similarly qualified kindergarten teachers.    

Require anyone providing direct service to young children have at least child a Child Development Associates (CDA) credential, all assistant teachers have at least an Associate’s Degree in early childhood education or child development, and all lead preschool teachers have a Bachelor’s Degree in early childhood education or child development.   

Guarantee support for existing and new early care and learning professionals to get the education required to care for and teach young children, within a reasonable phase-in period, and ensure that these professionals reflect the cultural, linguistic, racial and ethnic diversity of the communities they serve.   

Ensure that all early childhood educators have access to ongoing high-quality professional development that includes coaching and mentoring.  

Provide early childhood workers with strong protections for unionizing, sector-wide collective bargaining, workers’ rights, workplace safety, and fair scheduling, regardless of immigration status, and that they have the information and tools they need to act on these rights and protections through  the passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act introduced by Rep. Pramilla Jayapal and enacting Bernie’s Workplace Democracy plan.

The full plan can be found here.

Democrats 2020, Election 2020, Government Accountability, News & Photo Features

Democratic Race for 2020: Warren Plan to Restore Integrity and Competence to Government After Donald Trump

Senator Elizabeth Warren, running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, released her plan to “Restore Integrity and Competence to Government After Donald Trump” © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The vigorous contest of Democrats seeking the 2020 presidential nomination has produced excellent policy proposals to address major issues. Senator Elizabeth Warren released her plan to “Restore Integrity and Competence to Government After Donald Trump”

“Donald Trump’s presidency has been a dark period in American history. That period won’t end just because Donald Trump has left office. If we want to write a new chapter in the American story — one in which the government and economy actually work for the people — we will have to cleanse the corruption from our government and urgently act to appoint officials who will bring integrity to public service,” Warren states.

This is from the Warren campaign:

Charlestown, MA – In one year, the next president will start her first full day of work. Donald Trump will be leaving behind a disaster: agencies gutted, others run by lobbyists and rife with corruption and policies that have thrown our country into crisis. The next president will need to have the energy, expertise, and vision to safeguard our country, rebuild the government swiftly, and make fundamental changes so that it works for the American people. 
 
Elizabeth has a plan to restore integrity and competence to government after Donald Trump. She will:
 
Address the corruption and incompetence of the Trump Administration by: 

Asking for the resignations of all political appointees, including U.S. Attorneys, with an exception only for those positions necessary to preserve continuity and protect national security during the transition period.

Establishing an independent Justice Department Task Force to investigate violations by Trump administration officials of federal bribery laws, insider trading laws, and other anti-corruption and public integrity laws, and give that task force independent authority to pursue any substantiated criminal and civil violations.

Reviewing the performance of independent agencies and removing leading officials for cause where there is justification to do so. 

Identifying federal contracting arrangements that arose as a result of corruption in the Trump administration – and ending them. 

 Swiftly appoint new personnel:

Elizabeth will announce her choices for the Cabinet by December 1, 2020, other top nominations by December 15, 2020, and fully staff all senior and mid-level White House positions by Inauguration Day.

She will not hire any current lobbyists. If someone has served as a corporate lobbyist in the past, they will have a six year cooling off period and there will be no waivers or exceptions. Non-corporate lobbyists will have a two year cooling off period, and any waivers will be made public.

She will also institute a number of rules to make sure that executive branch officials are working on behalf of the people – not themselves or their former employers.

She will use a number of existing tools to swiftly fill government vacancies. 

Build a government that reflects the energy and diversity of America:

The Cabinet and senior leadership team will reflect the full diversity of America, including having at least 50% of Cabinet positions filled by women and non binary people.

LGBTQ+ people will be represented across all levels of government, including in leadership roles.

She will diversify recruitment to direct real resources toward attracting entry-level applicants for public service from HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions, and reform high-level recruiting processes to attract diverse experienced hires into senior management positions.

She will create new paid fellowship programs for federal jobs for people from marginalized communities and low-income applicants, including formerly incarcerated individuals.

She will open up promotion pathways by requiring every federal agency to incorporate diversity as part of their core strategic plan and creating support networks through a government-wide mentorship program that centers Black and Brown employees. 

And she will recommit to President Obama’s efforts to raise the level of people with disabilities in federal service. 

Read more about her plan here and below:
 
One year from today, the next president will begin her first full day of work. She will be inheriting a government in crisis: from children in cages at detention facilities near the border to a reckless foreign policy that endangers our country and a bigoted ban on travelers from Muslim-majority countries, our country will be in desperate need of immediate course correction. Further, Donald Trump will leave behind a government that has been infected by corruption and incompetence, and his vindictive actions as president suggest that he is likely to do everything he can to undermine the next president. We cannot assume that everything will be fine once Donald Trump leaves office. The next president will need to have the energy, expertise, and vision to safeguard our country, rebuild the government swiftly, and make fundamental changes so that it works for the American people. 
 
I know how to get the government working for the people because I’ve done it before. Back in 2010, President Obama picked me to get the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) up and running. We recruited a mission-driven staff and set up the organization, and it took swift action to protect Americans from financial predators and make financial products safer. From defending people with crushing levels of student debt to fighting for servicemembers and their families who were targeted by financial vultures, the agency used every tool in its toolbox to stand up for ordinary Americans. And that agency has now returned more than $12 billion directly to people who were cheated. 
 
I have also spent the last seven years in the Senate studying the intimate details of how our government works, finding the levers that can bring about big structural change, and identifying the key positions that are responsible for making these changes. And I have learned from a diverse community of experts who share my vision for progressive, structural change and who know the executive branch inside and out.
 
My agenda would make our government and our economy work for everyone. It starts with anti-corruption reforms, democracy reforms, campaign finance reforms — reforms that will break the stranglehold that corporate interests have on Washington and get our government working for the people. We’ll also make our economy work for everyone — from cancelling student loan debt to providing universal child care for every kid age 0 to 5 to investing in green manufacturing. But achieving this agenda while also addressing the crises that Donald Trump has created will require an energetic president with expertise on how the executive branch works, a real commitment to making the executive branch free from corruption, and the courage to use every tool available to deliver for working families. 
 
Donald Trump has done serious damage to our government. Of over 700 key government posts requiring Senate confirmation, the Trump administration has failed to confirm nearly a third. At both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, less than half of all key positions have been filled. The Trump administration has had 28 acting cabinet secretaries over three years – more than the total number of acting secretaries in either Bill Clinton or Barack Obama’s eight years in office. Senior career civil servants have been leaving the Trump administration at a record pace. Approximately 1 in 5 members of the Senior Executive Service left the administration in 2017 – a far greater share than during previous transitions, draining the agencies of long-held expertise and institutional knowledge. 
 
Of the positions he has filled, Donald Trump has been stacking the government with lobbyists, campaign donors, and cronies. Halfway through his first term, he had already hired 281 lobbyists into political appointments. Shortly after being elected, thirty-eight percent of those he picked for high-level government jobs were donors and during his first two years, 40% of his ambassadors came from outside the foreign service. The mix of industry insiders and donors has both created turmoil and opened up an opportunity for big businesses to tilt the rules in their favor. This government run by and for lobbyists has dismantled workplace safety and environmental rules, health care protections, and dozens of other programs and regulations that benefit working people. 
 
Rebuilding our government to work for the people won’t just happen. It’s going to require painstaking work, extraordinary drive and urgency, and a serious plan to root out the corruption and incompetence that Trump will leave behind. That means cleaning out the corruption that has infected the government, and it means moving immediately to fill key jobs and set up agencies with capable officials committed to putting the public interest first. 
 
Addressing the Corruption and Incompetence of the Trump Administration
 
On day one of my presidency, I will take aggressive steps to root out the corruption and incompetence of the Trump administration and to hold that administration accountable. I will:  

Remove all political appointees. Rooting out the corruption in our government starts with wiping the slate clean on political appointments. Donald Trump gave influential, high-ranking positions to his donors, friends, and political allies. I will ask for the resignations of all political appointees, including U.S. Attorneys, save only those positions necessary to preserve continuity and protect national security during the transition period. 
 

Prevent political appointees from burrowing into career positions. The law outlines clear rules that help prevent political appointees from circumventing standard hiring practices and “burrowing” into the government by converting from a political appointment into a career position. I will strengthen enforcement of rules around conversion from appointed positions to career civil service to root out officials who attempt to burrow into agencies.
 

Establish a Justice Department Task Force to investigate corruption during the Trump administration and to hold government officials accountable for illegal activity. Donald Trump has run the most corrupt administration in history. He was impeached for withholding foreign aid in an effort to try to benefit his re-election campaign. He has enriched himself and his business through the power of his office. And there are public reports of potentially illegal corruption in every corner of his administration. If we are to move forward to restore public confidence in government and deter future wrongdoing, we cannot simply sweep this corruption under the rug in a new administration. That’s why I will direct the Justice Department to establish a task force to investigate violations by Trump administration officials of federal bribery laws, insider trading laws, and other anti-corruption and public integrity laws, and give that task force independent authority to pursue any substantiated criminal and civil violations. I have also committed to establishing a task force to investigate accusations of serious violations by immigration officials during the Trump era. 
 

Review the performance of independent agencies and remove leading officials for cause where there is justification to do so. For good reason, the heads of independent agencies can only be removed for cause — for example, if they neglect their duties or engage in malfeasance while in office. My administration will review these agencies and determine whether any of these agency heads warrant removal for cause — and I will not hesitate to use my for-cause removal authority if the facts justify it.
 

Identify federal contracting arrangements that arose as a result of corruption in the Trump administration – and end them. The corruption in the Trump administration extends beyond those who work for the government directly to those who have won contracts to execute government services. For example, Donald Trump repeatedly pushed the Army Corps of Engineers to award a border wall contract to a particular company; the company won the contract despite not meeting the standards for a bid. My administration will review major contracts executed under the Trump administration to identify conflicts of interest and other forms of corruption and take action to cancel any contracts procured as a result of corrupting influences.  

Swiftly Appoint New Personnel Who Will Undo the Trump Administration’s Disastrous Policies, Restore Integrity to Government, and Fight on Behalf of the American People
 
It would be foolish to assume that after Trump is gone, the government will start moving in the right direction all on its own. This will be no ordinary transition between administrations. One year from now, the next president will take charge in the middle of multiple crises – from the border, to our foreign policy, to the undermining of health, safety, and environmental rules, to the hollowing out and corruption of our public institutions.  
 
My transition will move faster than any transition in modern history to identify appointees and develop plans for making change starting on day one. Unlike previous transitions, we will not be able to assume good faith cooperation on the part of the outgoing administration, and we do not have an outgoing administration that shares even the most basic values. There will be no time to lose in putting teams in place to address the crises this administration has brought on our country – and to take action on the extraordinary challenges that the American people face. 
 
And that is why I am committing to announcing my choices for the Cabinet by December 1, 2020, other top nominations by December 15, 2020, and fully staff all senior and mid-level White House positions by Inauguration Day. Historically, the Obama administration was the most successful at sending nominations to the Senate, delivering 35 nominations for confirmation on his first day in office. As president, I will send the largest package of nominees to the Senate for confirmation on day one. In addition, I will have the senior and mid-level ranks of my White House fully staffed on day one, so that we can hit the ground running.
 

  Trump Obama GW Bush Clinton  GHW Bush
Day 1 28 35 13 25 18
Day 100 71 190 85 176 95
Day 200 277 433 414 345 315

 
Source: Partnership for Public Service, Center for Presidential Transition
 
I have often said that personnel is policy. The choices of who to appoint are policy choices, because individuals make policy decisions. But personnel is also performance. If our government doesn’t have good people, it can’t perform for the American people. To meet this ambitious schedule while also ensuring that our government reflects the interests of all Americans, I will focus on three key areas: instituting hiring rules and practices that end the revolving door and prevent corruption; building an administration that reflects the experiences and diversity of our country; and using all available tools to swiftly fill vacancies.
 
Ending the Revolving Door and Preventing Corruption
We must ensure that the next administration isn’t afflicted by the corrupting influence of money that plagues Washington. I have introduced the biggest anti-corruption legislation since Watergate and my first priority as president is to pass my Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, so that we can clean up every aspect of Washington policymaking. 
 
But there are many actions a president can take all by herself, and my administration will adopt the strictest anti-corruption hiring rules of any administration in American history. And that starts by ending the revolving door between big corporations and their lobbyists and government jobs.

My administration will not hire any current lobbyists.  If someone has served as a corporate lobbyist in the past, my administration will require them to have a six year cooling off period before they are eligible for a government position, and there will be no waivers or exceptions. Non-corporate lobbyists will have a two year cooling off period, and any waivers will be made public. 

My administration will not hire employees of for-profit federal contractors, unless I personally review the situation and decide it is in the national interest. For-profit contractors and licensees do business with the government – they are often awarded huge contracts and licenses for important federal projects. Unless I make a specific exception, my administration will not hire employees of such firms into the agencies or departments that awarded contracts to their former employers for four years after their last contract or license was awarded.

My administration will not hire executives of companies that break federal law or are under investigation unless six years have passed since the conclusion of the investigation or enforcement action. People in the private sector can have valuable experience to bring to public service. But too often, government agencies hire senior executives at companies and banks that have broken federal law, are subject to enforcement actions, or are under investigation. Leaders of companies and banks that don’t follow the law should not be in a position of public trust developing and enforcing the law. These appointments stop in my administration. 

My administration will not hire any person who receives a “golden parachute” from their employer. “Golden parachutes” – payments, bonuses, salaries, or other forms of compensation contingent on accepting a position in the federal government – create the impression that the recipients will work in their former employers’ best interest – not the public’s. A Warren administration will not allow such arrangements. 

In addition to these hiring restrictions, my administration will institute rules to make sure that executive branch officials are working on behalf of the people – not themselves or their former employers: 

To prevent conflicts of interest, officials in my administration will have to divest from any individual stock, bond, or other investment that federal ethics officials determine may be directly influenced by the actions of the employee’s agency. 

Senior officials in my administration will be required to divest from all complex investments – including individual stocks and bonds, as well as commercial real estate and privately-owned or closely-held businesses. 

Senior officials must also commit to divesting any interests in family trusts if ethics officials determine that an asset belonging to the trust might pose a conflict of interest.  

Further, executive branch officials who have not been Senate confirmed must recuse themselves from matters affecting their former employer, direct competitor, client, or organization that an employee belonged to in the last four years.  Senior officials will be prohibited from being employed by or consulting for the private sector while simultaneously working in the federal government. And anyone who volunteers for the federal government, including White House staff and advisors, will have to agree to abide by all federal ethics rules too. 
 
The revolving door goes both ways, and too often, people in government depart and take jobs working at the very firms they had been regulating. At best, this creates the appearance of corruption. At worst, individuals who are thinking about their next job corrupt the policymaking process to favor potential employers. We will end this kind of revolving door corruption. 

Senior members of my administration will be required to pledge not to accept a lobbying appointment after finishing their official duties – for life. This will apply to all members of my Cabinet, heads of agencies, my Vice President – and me.  

All other members of my administration will have to commit to not lobby their former office or agency for two years after they leave the administration – and six years if they become corporate lobbyists – or until the administration ends, whichever is longer.  

Senior government officials in my administration will also have to pledge for a year not to work for or accept payment from any company that has lobbied their department or office within the past two years. 

Senior government officials in my administration will be asked to commit not to work for any giant bank or company worth more than $150 billion, any federal contractor receiving more than $5 billion in revenue from federal contracts, or any market-dominant company, as determined by the Attorney General, for four years after leaving their post. And anyone in my administration who participated in the process of granting a contract or license to a for-profit contractor will also be required to agree not to accept a job with that contractor for at least four years after leaving government service. 

Both President Obama and President Trump issued their own ethics pledges at the start of their administrations – and despite good intentions, both failed to curb the number of lobbyists and government officials that spin through the revolving door. That’s why the steps I have outlined here will eliminate the loopholes in previous ethics pledges, principally by expanding the definition of ‘lobbyist’ to include anyone who is hired to influence government, not just those who are required to register as a lobbyist under current law. Additionally, my plan requires every executive branch employee – not just political appointees – to abide by these rules as a condition of their government service and extends the cooling off periods for executive branch staff to prevent them from lobbying their former agency or office through the end of an administration. And it removes the president’s ability to waive these requirements for corporate lobbyists and executives of law-breaking companies.
 
Building a Government that Reflects the Energy and Diversity of America
It is not enough, of course, to have people in government who don’t have conflicts of interest. We need people who are passionate about the mission of their agencies, deeply understand the needs and experiences of all Americans, and reflect the diversity of the American people. 
 
Under the Trump Administration, we have seen appointees who are actively hostile to the mission of their agencies. Secretary of Education Betsy Devos doesn’t believe in public education. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler doesn’t think climate change is a top priority. As President, I will appoint people who want to fulfill the purposes of our government, not undermine it — and that starts with some serious departures from the Trump Administration. For example, I will appoint: 

A Secretary of Education who has been a public school teacher.

A Secretary of Labor who has been a labor leader, and appointees to the National Labor Relations Board who have a record of fighting for workers.

A Secretary of Agriculture who has a demonstrated commitment to advocating for Black farmers.

A Secretary of Homeland Security who is committed to undoing the damage caused by the Trump administration and who believes that immigration makes our country stronger, not weaker.

Department of Justice officials who believe in voting rights and the rule of law – including for the president.

Antitrust officials who will aggressively scrutinize mergers, bring challenges to vertical and horizontal mergers, and are not afraid to take on big tech, big ag, big pharma, and other consolidated industries. 

A Securities and Exchange Commission chair who will require corporate political spending disclosure, strictly enforce our securities laws, and use all existing tools to require robust disclosure of climate-related risks.

A Federal Communications Commission chair who will restore the 2015 Net Neutrality rules, block monopolistic mergers by media and telecom corporations, and protect the Lifeline program that helps low-income Americans afford broadband Internet. 

An EPA head who believes in the urgency of addressing climate change and protecting our environment. 

Federal Reserve officials who believe in the agency’s full employment mandate, recognize that inflation fears have been overblown for years, and who are willing to let wages grow. 

Our government officials can best serve the American public when they reflect the diversity of the country itself. The federal government does a dismal job on diversity and inclusion. The share of Latinas in the federal workforce is about half that of the entire workforce. Even though Black women are disproportionately represented in the federal workforce, they are nearly absent from its leadership ranks. White workers make up nearly 80% of the senior civil service despite making up only 63% of the overall federal workforce. The Obama administration worked to raise the proportion of people with disabilities to more than 14% of the federal workforce, but that dropped to 9.2% under Trump. My administration will be committed to diversity and inclusion, starting on day one. I will: 

Build a Cabinet and senior leadership team that reflects the full diversity of America, including having at least 50% of Cabinet positions filled by women and non binary people.

Ensure representation of LGBTQ+ people across all levels of government, including in leadership roles.

Diversify recruitment to direct real resources toward attracting entry-level applicants for public service from HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions, and reform high-level recruiting processes to attract diverse experienced hires into senior management positions.

Create new paid fellowship programs for federal jobs for people from marginalized communities and low-income applicants, including formerly incarcerated individuals.

Open up promotion pathways by requiring every federal agency to incorporate diversity as part of their core strategic plan and creating support networks through a government-wide mentorship program that centers Black and Brown employees. 

Recommit to President Obama’s efforts to raise the level of people with disabilities in federal service — and I will include federal contractors and internship programs too.  

Using Existing Tools to Swiftly Fill Government Vacancies
To implement the kind of big, structural changes I have proposed, we will need to address the substantial vacancies in career civil service positions left behind by the Trump administration. For example, the State Department lost a significant percentage of its employees in the first year of the Trump Administration alone. The federal government has a number of tools to expedite hiring processes, and a Warren administration would use them to put well-qualified public servants to work as quickly as possible. For example:

My Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) will use its direct hire authority to identify areas of severe shortage and allow agencies to waive competitive hiring processes in these areas of critical need.

My administration will use its Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment authority to fill certain positions with veterans using expedited hiring processes. 

My administration will reinstate qualified government officials who left public service through a streamlined hiring process, and 

I’ll also ensure that federal agencies effectively use agency-specific hiring authorities to fill key positions. 

Finally, I will designate officials at OPM to work with agencies to ensure that they are using their hiring authorities as effectively as possible while also prioritizing diversity in hiring and following all relevant laws, regulations, and administration policies. 

Read Warren’s plan here

Democrats 2020, Election 2020, Housing

Democratic Candidates for 2020: Biden Releases Plan for ‘Investing in Our Communities through Housing’

Vice President Joe Biden, running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, has released his plan for investing in communities through housing, “a right, not a privilege.” © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The vigorous contest of Democrats seeking the 2020 presidential nomination has produced excellent policy proposals to address major issues. Vice President Joe Biden has released his plan for investing in communities through housing, “a right, not a privilege.” This is from the Biden Campaign:

Joe Biden is running for President to rebuild the middle class and ensure that this time everyone comes along. He believes the middle class isn’t a number, but a value set which includes the ability to own your own home and live in a safe community. Housing should be a right, not a privilege.
 
Today, however, far too many Americans lack access to affordable and quality housing. Nationwide, we have a shortage of available, affordable housing units for low-income individuals. Tens of millions of Americans spend more than 30% of their income on housing – leaving them with nowhere near enough money left over to meet other needs, from groceries to prescription drugs. And, tens of millions of Americans live in homes that endanger their health and safety.
 
Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the failures in our housing markets, with homeownership rates for Black and Latino individuals falling far below the rate for white individuals. Because home ownership is how many families save and build wealth, these racial disparities in home ownership contribute to the racial wealth gap. It is far past time to put an end to systemic housing discrimination and other contributors to this disparity.
 
As President, Joe Biden will invest $640 billion over 10 years so every American has access to housing that is affordable, stable, safe and healthy, accessible, energy efficient and resilient, and located near good schools and with a reasonable commute to their jobs. Biden will do this by:

Ending redlining and other discriminatory and unfair practices in the housing market.

Providing financial assistance to help hard-working Americans buy or rent safe, quality housing, including down payment assistance through a refundable and advanceable tax credit and fully funding federal rental assistance.

Increasing the supply, lowering the cost, and improving the quality of housing, including through investments in resilience, energy efficiency, and accessibility of homes.

Pursuing a comprehensive approach to ending homelessness. 

Housing is an essential part of Biden’s broader strategy to grow strong, healthy communities in every zip code – from his plan to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and revitalize local economies to his plan to invest in our public schools.
 

The Biden Principles for Housing
 
While the housing challenges Americans face in different rural and urban communities across the country may vary, every American in every zip code should have access to housing that is: affordable – taking up no more than 30% of income so they have money left over to meet other needs; stable – providing families with the consistency they need to maintain jobs, perform well in school, and develop social networks necessary for well-being; safe and healthy – protecting families from environmental and social risks from polluted air to lead contamination to gun violence; accessible – meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities so they can live in their communities; energy efficient and resilient – reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and withstanding the impacts of climate change; and located near good schools and with a reasonable commute to their jobs.

 
END REDLINING AND OTHER DISCRIMINATORY AND UNFAIR PRACTICES IN THE HOUSING MARKET

Protect homeowners and renters from abusive lenders and landlords through a new Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights. Modeled on the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, Biden will enact legislation to end many shortcomings in the mortgage and rental markets. This new Bill of Rights will prevent mortgage brokers from leading borrowers into loans that cost more than appropriate, prevent mortgage servicers from advancing a foreclosure when the homeowner is in the process of receiving a loan modification, give homeowners a private right of action to seek financial redress from mortgage lenders and servicers that violate these protections, and give borrowers the right to a timely notification on the status of their loan modifications and to be able to appeal modification denials. Building on the Obama-Biden Administration’s Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, the Bill of Rights will also expand protections for renters. For example, the Bill of Rights will include a law prohibiting landlords from discriminating against renters receiving federal housing benefits. 

Protect tenants from eviction. Housing evictions can have devastating consequences for families and often stem from relatively small shortfalls in rent. As a former public defender, Biden appreciates the difference legal representation can make for those facing eviction. As President, he will work to enact Majority Whip James E. Clyburn and Senator Michael Bennet’s Legal Assistance to Prevent Evictions Act of 2020, which will help tenants facing eviction access legal assistance. He also will encourage localities to create eviction diversion programs, including mediation, payment plans, and financial literacy education programs.

Eliminate local and state housing regulations that perpetuate discrimination. Exclusionary zoning has for decades been strategically used to keep people of color and low-income families out of certain communities. As President, Biden will enact legislation requiring any state receiving federal dollars through the Community Development Block Grants or Surface Transportation Block Grants to develop a strategy for inclusionary zoning, as proposed in the HOME Act of 2019 by Majority Whip Clyburn and Senator Cory Booker. Biden will also invest $300 million in Local Housing Policy Grants to give states and localities the technical assistance and planning support they need to eliminate exclusionary zoning policies and other local regulations that contribute to sprawl.

Hold financial institutions accountable for discriminatory practices in the housing market. The Obama-Biden Administration held major national financial institutions accountable for discriminatory lending practices, securing hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements to help borrowers who had been harmed by their practices. And in 2013, the Obama-Biden Administration codified a long-standing, court-supported view that lending practices that have a discriminatory effect can be challenged even if discrimination was not explicit. But now the Trump Administration is seeking to gut this disparate impact standard by significantly increasing the burden of proof for those claiming discrimination. In the Biden Administration, this change will be reversed to ensure financial institutions are held accountable for serving all customers.

Strengthen and expand the Community Reinvestment Act to ensure that our nation’s bank and non-bank financial services institutions are serving all communities. The Community Reinvestment Act currently regulates banks, but does little to ensure that “fintechs” and non-bank lenders are providing responsible access to all members of the community. On top of that gap, the Trump Administration is proposing to weaken the law by allowing lenders to receive a passing rating even if the lenders are excluding many neighborhoods and borrowers. Biden will expand the Community Reinvestment Act to apply to mortgage and insurance companies, to add a requirement for financial services institutions to provide a statement outlining their commitment to the public interest, and, importantly, to close loopholes that would allow these institutions to avoid lending and investing in all of the communities they serve.

Roll back Trump Administration policies gutting fair lending and fair housing protections for homeowners. Biden will implement the Obama-Biden Administration’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule requiring communities receiving certain federal funding to proactively examine housing patterns and identify and address policies that have a discriminatory effect. The Trump Administration suspended this rule in 2018. Biden will ensure effective and rigorous enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. And, he will reinstate the federal risk-sharing program which has helped secure financing for thousands of affordable rental housing units in partnership with housing finance agencies.  

Restore the federal government’s power to enforce settlements against discriminatory lenders. The Trump Administration has stripped the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity, a division of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of its power to enforce settlements against lenders found to have discriminated against borrowers – for example by charging significantly higher interest rates for people of color than white individuals. Biden will return power to the division so it can protect consumers from discrimination.

Tackle racial bias that leads to homes in communities of color being assessed by appraisers below their fair value. Housing in communities primarily comprised of people of color is valued at tens of thousands of dollars below majority-white communities even when all other factors are the same, contributing to the racial wealth gap. To counteract this racial bias, Biden will establish a national standard for housing appraisals that ensures appraisers have adequate training and a full appreciation for neighborhoods and do not hold implicit biases because of a lack of community understanding. An objective national standard for appraisals will also make it harder for financial institutions to put pressure on appraisers to their benefit.

PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP HARD-WORKING AMERICANS BUY OR RENT QUALITY HOUSING

Help families buy their first homes and build wealth by creating a new refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000. Biden’s new First Down Payment Tax Credit will help families offset the costs of homebuying and help millions of families lay down roots for the first time. Building off of a temporary tax credit expanded as part of the Recovery Act, this tax credit will be permanent and advanceable, meaning that homebuyers receive the tax credit when they make the purchase instead of waiting to receive the assistance when they file taxes the following year.

Provide Section 8 housing vouchers to every eligible family so that no one has to pay more than 30% of their income for rental housing. Roughly three in four households eligible for Section 8 rental assistance do not receive housing assistance because the program is underfunded. Biden’s approach is straightforward: the Section 8 rental housing assistance program should be fully funded so that everyone eligible gets the assistance they need to pay their rent for a safe home. Biden will devote resources to both voucher-based rental assistance and the project-based program. Over time, this approach will provide assistance to at least 17 million low-income families. And, as part of the Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights, Biden will enact a law prohibiting landlords from discriminating against renters receiving federal housing benefits. 

Create a new renter’s tax credit to help more low-income families. Biden will work with Congress to enact a new renter’s tax credit, designed to reduce rent and utilities to 30% of income for low-income individuals and families who may make too much money to qualify for a Section 8 voucher but still struggle to pay their rent. He will allocate $5 billion in federal funding for the tax credit every year.

Expand housing benefits for first-responders, public school educators, and other public and national service workers who commit to living in persistently impoverished communities or who work in neighborhoods with low affordable housing stock. Biden will expand the Good Neighbor Next Door program, which is designed to help strengthen communities that have experienced significant underinvestment and high rates of poverty while also providing opportunities for first responders, educators, and those engaged in national service to purchase homes in those same communities. Specifically, Biden will expand the program through additional down-payment assistance, partnering with state housing agencies, tribal governments, local governments, and state/local banks to offer the program’s existing significant discount on the price of a home on a larger pool of homes, and providing access to a low-interest loan to rehabilitate these homes. And, he will ensure these resources are also available to public servants who work in neighborhoods with low affordable housing stock.

Create the Public Credit Reporting Agency. Being able to obtain a credit report is a critical step for homeownership. But today credit reports, which are issued by just three large private companies, are rife with problems: they often contain errors, they leave many “credit invisible” due to the sources used to generate a credit score, and they contribute to racial disparities. Biden will create a new public credit reporting agency within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to provide consumers with a government option that seeks to minimize racial disparities, for example by ensuring the algorithms used for credit scoring don’t have a discriminatory impact, and by accepting non-traditional sources of data like rental history and utility bills to establish credit.

Reducing Greenhouse Gases and Lowering Working Families’ Electricity Bills
 
As Biden announced in his climate plan, he will set a target of reducing the carbon footprint of the U.S. building stock 50% by 2035, creating incentives for deep retrofits that combine appliance electrification, efficiency, and on-site clean power generation. In addition to the $10 billion retrofitting fund described below, other policies he will pursue to reduce the carbon footprint of residential buildings include: Directing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to make housing for low-income communities more efficient. Directing the U.S. Department of Energy to redouble efforts to accelerate new efficiency standards for household appliances and equipment. Repairing and accelerating the building code process, and creating a new funding mechanism for states and cities to adopt strict building codes and train builders and inspectors.  Read Biden’s full plan to address the climate emergency at joebiden.com/climate.

 
INCREASE THE SUPPLY, LOWER THE COST, AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF HOUSING

Establish a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to construct and upgrade affordable housing.

$65 billion in new incentives for state housing authorities and the Indian Housing Block Grant program to construct or rehabilitate low-cost, efficient, resilient, and accessible housing in areas where affordable housing is in short supply. These funds will be directed toward communities that are suffering from an affordability crisis and that are willing to implement new zoning laws that encourage more affordable housing.

$10 billion to make homes more energy efficient. This retrofitting will lower families’ energy bills, create jobs for workers in the trades in every state in the nation, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

$5 billion to increase the stock of affordable housing as part of larger community development efforts. Specifically, these funds will expand the HOME program, ensuring that the program’s requirements are more conducive to supporting first-time homebuyers, and the Capital Magnet Fund, which spurs private investment in affordable housing and economic development in distressed communities. Among other uses, localities can use these funds to purchase vacant, underdeveloped, or underutilized property and construct affordable housing.

Increase funding for the Housing Trust Fund by $20 billion. Biden will increase the availability of affordable housing through the Housing Trust Fund, paid for by an increase in the assessment on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These additional dollars will support the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing units.  

Provide tax incentives for the construction of more affordable housing in communities that need it most. As President, Biden will expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit – a tax provision designed to incentivize the construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing for low-income tenants that has created nearly 3 million affordable housing units since the mid-1980s – with a $10 billion investment. This investment will be designed to make the credit more efficient, dramatically increasing the number of new or rehabilitated affordable housing units. And, he will ensure that urban, suburban, and rural areas all benefit from the credit. Biden will also invest in the development and rehabilitation of single family homes across distressed urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods through the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act.

Invest in community development. In addition to the community development Biden is proposing as part of his infrastructure initiative, he will also expand flexible funding for the Community Development Block Grant by $10 billion over ten years. The Community Development Block Grant funds local efforts to expand affordable housing, improve infrastructure, and increase economic opportunities for low-income individuals and communities. These funds are flexible federal grants that localities receive to deal with their specific challenges and support stabilization and infrastructure.

Eliminate local and state housing regulations that limit affordable housing options and contribute to urban sprawl. Housing policy can be used as a tool to battle climate change. Many lower- and middle-income Americans are forced to live far away from job centers due to high housing costs, leading not only to workers being overburdened by long commutes and transportation costs, but also to higher greenhouse gas emissions. Biden will tie new federal investments in housing to a requirement that states and localities eliminate regulations that reduce the availability of affordable housing and contribute to sprawl. He will direct his Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation to identify existing federal grant programs that can be amended by adding zoning reform as a requirement. And, Biden will expand investments in Local Housing Policy Grants to give states and localities the technical assistance and planning support they need to modernize housing regulations.

Ensure minority-owned businesses benefit from investment in housing construction and repair. To further support wealth creation among Black and Latino families, Biden will require his Administration to take all available steps to make sure minority-owned businesses are able to benefit from ongoing and new federal housing and infrastructure spending.

Use federal transit dollars to leverage local investment in transit and affordable housing
 
Smart transit and regional planning policies are essential for ensuring access to affordable housing, avoiding sprawl, improving quality of life by reducing the distance between living and leisure areas, and mitigating climate change. To meet these goals, Biden will ensure a portion of new federal transit dollars are designed to leverage local investment in both transit and affordable housing in transit corridors. Biden has proposed the following new transit investments: Offer tens of millions of Americans new transportation options. Outside major cities, most Americans do not have access to high-quality, reliable public transportation; and within urban areas, it’s often in need of repair. As a result, workers and families rely on cars, which can be a big financial burden, clog roadways, and –  along with light-duty trucks – significantly increase U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. As President, Biden will aim to provide all Americans in municipalities of more than 100,000 people with quality public transportation by 2030. To that end, he’ll increase flexible federal investments, helping cities and towns to install light rail networks and to improve existing transit and bus lines. He’ll also help them to invest in infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and riders of e-scooters and other micro-mobility vehicles. And, Biden will work to make sure that new, fast-growing areas are designed and built with public transit in mind. Specifically, he will create a new program that gives rapidly expanding communities the resources to build in public transit options from the start. Reduce congestion by working with metropolitan regions to plan smarter growth. Biden will empower city, county, regional, and state leaders to explore new, smarter, climate-friendly strategies to help reduce average commute times and build more vibrant main streets. Specifically, Biden will create a competitive grant program to help leaders rethink and redesign regional transportation systems, to get commuters where they are going safer, faster, and more efficiently. At the same time, Biden will boost highway funding by 10% and allocate the new funding to states that embrace smart climate design and pollution reduction, incentivizing them to invest in greenhouse gas reduction. States will also be free to use existing highway funding for alternative transportation options. Connect workers to jobs. For too many low-income workers, the cost of transportation and time it takes them to commute to work every day are significant barriers. As President, Biden will dedicate an additional $10 billion over 10 years specifically for transit projects that serve high-poverty areas with limited transportation options, so that workers seeking a better life won’t have to spend as much getting to their jobs.  Read Biden’s full infrastructure plan at joebiden.com/infrastructure.

Ensure rural communities have access to affordable and accessible homes. The Biden Administration will increase funding for needed repairs of affordable rental housing properties and construction of new property through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service, including the Multi-Family Direct Loans and the Single Family Direct Loans programs, which support the construction of housing for low income, disabled, or elderly individuals in rural communities. Majority Whip Clyburn’s 10-20-30 plan has already been applied to a number of Rural Development programs in order to ensure a portion of funds are dedicated to serving families living in areas facing persistent poverty. As President, Biden will apply the 10-20-30 plan to all federal programs.

Expand funding for mission-driven, community-based financial institutions that invest in building new housing in underserved areas. As part of his plan to reinvest in communities across the country, including in rural areas, Biden will expand funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which supports local, “mission-driven” financial institutions in low-income areas around the U.S. – including those invested in building new housing in underserved areas.

Drive additional capital into low-income communities to spur the development of low-income housing. The New Markets Tax Credit has drawn in $8 of private investment for every $1 of federal investment in low-income communities by providing tax credits to investors in community development organizations that support everything from supermarkets to real estate projects to manufacturing plants. Biden will expand the program to provide $5 billion in support every year, and will make the program permanent so communities can take the credit into account in their long-term planning.

For all of these new housing investments, those receiving assistance will be required to abide by Davis-Bacon Act wage requirements so that jobs created with these investments support family sustaining wages and benefits. And, the Biden Administration will encourage the use of resources and materials that are sourced domestically, as well as the use of project labor agreements.
 

Guarantee safe housing for our military families
 
The government has broken its trust with military families by providing sub-par housing. Now, we have to work twice as hard to rebuild this trust. That will require the utmost transparency and accountability from both the government and the private sector partners charged with housing the families of our service members. The Biden Administration will: Enforce a comprehensive and standardized tenant Bill of Rights for all military families, and as advocates have rightly demanded, ensure U.S. Department of Defense senior leadership enforces compliance. We won’t be making more empty promises to military families. We will hold these landlords, and ourselves, accountable. Require regular, standardized, objective, and published reporting of military family satisfaction and concerns from all housing. Establish a public-facing document outlining expectations of quality and consequences for all housing providers and, when necessary, terminate long-term leases held by private companies.  
Read Biden’s full plan for military families at joebiden.com/militaryfamilies.

 
PURSUE A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO ENDING HOMELESSNESS

Develop a national strategy for making housing a right for all. Biden believes everyone should have the right to a safe roof over their head. On the first day of his Administration, he will direct his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to lead a task force of mayors and other local elected officials to put on his desk within 100 days a roadmap for making this right a reality nationwide. Mayors and local elected officials are on the front lines of tackling homelessness, so Biden will use their expertise to help the federal government identify best practices that should be replicated across the country.

Provide emergency funding designed to tackle the homelessness crisis. Biden will work with Congress to secure passage of Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ Ending Homelessness Act. This bill funds a comprehensive, holistic strategy to ending homelessness, including everything from case management to emergency shelters to additional housing vouchers for homeless individuals. In total, this law will invest $13 billion to tackle homelessness over five years, including $5 billion for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, and the law will create more than 400,000 additional housing units for homeless individuals. In addition, Biden will ensure part of this grant funding is specifically targeted to assist homeless children and young adults.

Reform federal housing programs to ensure they take a “housing first” approach to ending homelessness. The Trump Administration has demonstrated acceptance of a worldview that housing and food should be withheld until homeless individuals tackle challenges such as addiction and mental illness. This view isn’t just inhumane, it defies the evidence regarding what works. More and more evidence is making clear that a “housing first” approach – “guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before attending to anything less critical, such as getting a job, budgeting properly, or attending to substance use issues” – is an effective strategy for reducing homelessness. So, while the Biden Administration will pursue a comprehensive strategy addressing homelessness’ underlying causes – from making sure everyone has access to quality mental health and addiction support, to increasing the minimum wage and expanding workforce training, to changing the culture so more LGBTQ teenagers are accepted in their homes – President Biden will make sure our country commits to a “housing first” approach to ending homelessness. In his first 100 days, Biden will direct his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct a full review of federal housing policies to make sure they pursue and incentivize the “housing first” approach. The Secretary will identify all ways in which homelessness assistance grants can further support rapid re-housing and long-term supportive housing. Supportive housing has been found to have positive long-term impacts, and rapid re-housing has been shown to lead to quick exits from homelessness.

Reduce homelessness among veterans. The Obama-Biden Administration cut the population of homeless veterans by almost half. But with just over 23,000 veterans without shelter on any given night, we have much more work to do. Biden will work with Congress to continue to drive down veteran homelessness by permanently authorizing the Supportive Services for Veterans Families program, which provides critical funding for wrap-around services for those facing homelessness. President Biden will also work to ensure that we better understand the unique needs of women and LGBTQ veterans experiencing homelessness. And, he will create safe, modern, clean, and recovery-oriented housing for veterans being treated for substance use disorders and those who are homeless by refurbishing buildings condemned or not in use, such as the massive VA Los Angeles campus. Read Biden’s full plan to support our veterans at joebiden.com/veterans.

Protect LGBTQ individuals. The Obama-Biden Administration enforced the civil rights of the LGBTQ community, including by ensuring federally funded homeless shelters provide housing according to an individual’s gender identity and cannot refuse services based on gender identity or sexual orientation. The Trump Administration has since proposed allowing shelters to discriminate against transgender people when determining their accommodations, for example by forcing transgender women to sleep and use the bathroom in the same place as men. As President, Biden will secure the passage of the Equality Act, ensuring that no President can ever again single-handedly roll back civil rights protections for LGBTQ individuals, including in housing and homeless shelters. And, he will increase funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to ensure LGBTQ individuals have access to transitional living programs that provide essential services like job counseling and mental and physical health care.

Expand access to supportive housing and services for individuals with disabilities and the elderly. A Biden Administration will increase the availability of supportive and accessible housing for seniors and individuals with disabilities, including through the Supportive Housing for the Elderly (“Section 202”) and Supportive Housing for Individuals with Disabilities (“Section 811”) programs. Biden also will increase resources for mental health services and substance use disorder treatment, including through the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness program.

Set a national goal of ensuring 100% of formerly incarcerated individuals have housing upon reentry. If incarcerated individuals do not find housing upon reentry, that lack of housing can be completely destabilizing and limit their likelihood of successfully staying out of the criminal justice system and fulfilling their potential. Biden will work toward a goal of ensuring 100% of formerly incarcerated individuals – at the federal and state level – have housing upon release. He’ll start by eliminating barriers keeping formerly incarcerated individuals from accessing public assistance, including housing support. He’ll direct the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to only contract with entities that are open to housing individuals looking for a second chance. And, he’ll expand funding for transitional housing, which has been drastically cut under the Trump Administration.

Ensure survivors of domestic and sexual violence have safe, affordable housing
 
Biden has put forward a comprehensive plan to strengthen social supports for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and human trafficking, including helping victims secure housing, gain economic stability, and recover from the trauma of abuse. The U.S. Conference of Mayors has identified domestic violence as a top driver of family homelessness, and research points to domestic violence as a key cause of homelessness for many women. And, domestic violence survivors and their children often live in unstable housing conditions, such as with relatives or friends in crowded and potentially exploitative conditions or returning to abusive partners. Research demonstrates that providing flexibility in eligibility, services, and support helps survivors feel safer and rebuild their lives after violence.
 
The Biden plan will cut through the red tape that can slow down assistance and limit options for survivors. Specifically, Biden will: Establish a new coordinated housing initiative. Current federal housing programs are insufficient for meeting the needs of domestic and sexual violence survivors. Biden will bring federal agencies together to create a comprehensive housing grant program tailored to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. This grant program will include flexible funding to support the practical needs of survivors; advocacy with landlords and housing agencies to keep victims in housing; supportive services including legal assistance, child care, and employment training; new permanent housing vouchers; increased funding for the VAWA transitional housing program; and home ownership opportunities. Expand access to housing assistance. Biden will strengthen the VAWA housing provisions, for example by making it easier for victims to retain their federal housing subsidy when needed for safety reasons. Protect survivors from housing discrimination. The Fair Housing Act protects women from gender discrimination in public and private housing, including survivors who may be unfairly evicted from housing because of domestic violence. The Trump Administration proposed rolling back Fair Housing protections by making it harder to prove disparate impact claims and allowing landlords and banks to use discriminatory practices. The Biden Administration will vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act. VAWA also protects survivors from discrimination in subsidized housing and allows survivors to transfer to new units if necessary for safety. But red tape makes these provisions challenging to implement. The Biden plan will make it easier for survivors to transfer their housing assistance and move to a new home so that they can be safe.  
Read Biden’s full plan to end violence against women at joebiden.com/VAWA.

 
Investing In Our Housing to Grow the Middle Class, Paid for by Making Sure Corporations Pay Their Fair Share
 
Biden’s $640 billion investment in America’s housing is paid for by raising taxes on corporations and large financial institutions. Specifically, approximately $300 billion of the housing plan is devoted to new construction and is encompassed in the $1.3 trillion infrastructure plan. The remaining portion is paid for by instituting a financial fee on certain liabilities of firms with over $50 billion in assets.

Democrats 2020, Election 2020, Health Care, Homeland Security

Democratic Candidates for 2020: Senator Amy Klobuchar Releases Global Pandemic Prevention, Detection, and Response Policy

In the wake of global concern over the possible spread of the coronavirus, Senator Amy Klobuchar released her plan for Global Pandemic Prevention, Detection and Response Policy © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Several of the Democratic candidates for president have demonstrated how they contrast with the current occupant of the Oval Office in terms of how they would lead the country through disasters. Senator Amy Klobuchar released her plan for Global Pandemic Prevention, Detection and Response Policy. This is from Senator Klobuchar’s campaign:


MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The recent outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus is a stark reminder of the persistent threats posed by infectious diseases. Senator Klobuchar believes the United States must continue to lead the global fight to prevent, detect and respond to pandemics. In the Senate, she has championed efforts to address outbreaks at home and abroad. She successfully secured critical funding to combat Ebola in West Africa, helping strengthen health care infrastructure. And as Chair of the Senate Steering and Outreach Committee, she spearheaded efforts to rapidly address the spread of the Zika virus and support local prevention measures and research. As President, she will prioritize taking on global pandemics and protecting U.S. national security. She will: 

Renew U.S. leadership and recommit to the Global Health Security Agenda, an initiative launched under the Obama administration to respond to the threat that infectious diseases pose to the global community.

Work with our allies and through multilateral organizations like the World Health Organization to improve local health infrastructure in at-risk countries and regions.

Fully fund U.S. departments, agencies, and programs that are on the front lines in preventing and responding to outbreaks, both at home and overseas, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, State Department, United States Agency for International Development, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Strengthen early-warning systems to detect and respond to outbreaks on the ground before they spread into full-fledged pandemics. 

Develop the global rapid-response system for deploying international medical teams to respond to outbreaks at the source. 

Increase stockpiles of existing vaccines and treatments and streamline delivery systems for rapid deployment during outbreaks.

Invest in capabilities for accelerating the production of new vaccines and treatments when new pathogens emerge. 

Leverage public-private partnerships that can unlock new investments and innovations.

campaign finance, Democrats 2020, Election 2020, News & Photo Features

Warren, Campaigning with Castro in Brooklyn, Tells Democrats ‘We Need Big Ideas and Be Willing to Fight’

Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigning for president with Julian Castro at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

By Karen Rubin, News-Photos-Features.com

When you watch Elizabeth Warren at her rallies, you don’t get the feeling she is doing this for her own ego, for her own advantage. Her own situation is so far passed the stress she had as a young person, when her father, a janitor, got sick and her mother had to go out and support the family on a minimum wage job at Sears, or when she attended the only community college she could afford, She’s well passed being a special education public school teacher, and even the prestigious job of a Harvard law professor and could easily sail through being a US Senator without the superhuman tension of being the Leader of the Free World. She would not personally benefit from any of the proposals she is fighting for, except that they would make the country stronger, healthier, happier, more prosperous, and restore its moral compass so badly misdirected by a president who regards the Constitution as having as much force as a suggestion, who separates families, puts children in cages, launches illegal assassination, pardons war criminals, and advances economic policies that exacerbate the inequality between rich and poor.

As one young woman said walking into the Kings Theater in Brooklyn where Warren was going to campaign with Julian Castro for the first time, “You feel hope. You feel she is speaking to you.”

Her smarts come through, even as she makes jokes and makes fun of herself (“When you have to number your husbands, not a good thing.” “Are you sensing a pattern here?” she says as she relates how her quest to get a college education or hold a job was interrupted by pregnancy and raising a baby. And you must hear her story about the toaster to appreciate how she got the idea for the Consumer Financial Protection Board, which boils down to the idea that government regulation is needed to protect consumers and like with product safety, financial security should also have consumer protection, and level the playing field for enterprises that seek to implement socially responsible, environmentally sustainable practices.)

Proposals that come from the heart: Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigns in Brooklyn (c) Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com.

Not surprisingly, among the reams of specific plans she has come out with, from universal health care to public education to environmental justice, to immigration reform, Warren, who notes that she spent 45 minutes as a lawyer after getting her degree, but as a Harvard law professor, taught everything to do with finance, has come out with specific plan to re-write the bankruptcy law.

At her rally at the grand historic Kings Theater in Brooklyn, in front of an audience of over 3,000 (another 1500 outside who couldn’t be admitted),  Senator Warren went through her biography, her resume, and managed to digest down to three key points the sum-total of a bold progressive remaking of America – attack corruption; structural change in the economy; protect democracy – that comes down to “making government work for everyone,” and, as Julian Castro said, putting the American Dream back within reach of ordinary people.

Julian Castro campaigns for Senator Elizabeth Warren for president at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, as supporters hold up letters spelling out “People First”, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Julian Castro, the former HUD Secretary under Obama who had just abandoned his own presidential bid and immediately endorsed Warren, made this plain, describing her as someone who has overcome adversity, understands what ordinary people need and more significantly, understands the structural forces that contribute to inequality and the undoing of democracy:

“She’s a fighter because she has also struggled and lived that American dream. Elizabeth Warren grew up the daughter of a janitor. She grew up to become a public school teacher. And a law professor. And a United States Senator. And a champion for consumers everywhere in this country. 

Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigning for president at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

“She knows what sacrifice is like after her father had a heart attack, her mom had to take a minimum wage job at Sears to make ends meet. She understands because she’s listened to people for many years, throughout this country. She’s heard their calls for change. She’s heard about their dreams and their aspirations for themselves and for their families and communities and for our country. She’s a fighter because she knows that too often times today the deck is stacked against people who just want a shot at reaching their dreams. She knows that too often today in Washington, the power goes to special interests who can afford big lobbyists and lawyers to write in special provisions and legislation. She knows that we need to get big money out of politics.

Warren volunteer Ella Martone channels Rosie the Riveter. Senator Elizabeth Warren “is a fighter for people who need a voice.” Julian Castro said at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

“She knows that we need to give the people the powerful — the power and not the powerful the biggest voice. And let me tell you something, I don’t have to guess what kind of President she’s going to be, because I’ve seen firsthand what kind of the senator she is…

“She was there to know what we were gonna do to invest in communities that were hurting. She is a fighter for people who need a voice.

“She’s a fighter for everyday Americans that simply want a shot. So I know that that’s the kind of president that she’s gonna be.”

In the video Castro made announcing his endorsement of Warren, he said, In the video announcing his endorsement, Secretary Castro said: “There’s one candidate I see who’s unafraid to fight like hell to make sure America’s promise will be there for everyone. Who will make sure that no matter where you live in America or where your family came from in the world, you have a path to opportunity too. That’s why I’m proud to endorse Elizabeth Warren for president.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigning for president at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Warren came to the stage, embraced Castro, and immediately opened with her concern about Trump orchestrating a war in Iran, and reaching out to the “brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico who need help” after devastating series of earthquakes, and should get the federal help the island was denied after Hurricane Maria.

She renewed her charge that government works great for Big Pharma but not for people needing to fill prescriptions; for giant oil companies, but not for the rest of us who realize the existential risk that climate change poses. (Just this week, the Trump Administration is seeking to eliminate environmental restrictions on building pipelines or drilling).

“If there is a decision to be made, it’s made by Big Money,” she declared. “The middle class is being hollowed out.”

“To fix this, we can’t just nibble at the edges. We need big structural change. And I have a plan for that.”

“I have a plan for that.” Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigning for president at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Indeed, she has already released a score of detailed plans, including how she would battle corruption in government. “I have the biggest anti-corruption plan since Watergate; I will end lobbying as we know it. Make the Supreme Court play by the basic rules of ethics. Make everyone who runs for federal office put their tax returns on line. Attack the corruption head on. Disrupt the inflow of money into politics. It is time for a president to enforce the anti-trust laws.”

She also is advocating for “an ultra-millionaire” wealth tax, prompting chants of “Two Cents. Two Cents” – the amount of tax she would impose after the first $50 million of net worth (6% on amounts over $1 billion) – that is the top one tenth of one percent of the country who would fall into this category. That money, she insists, would pay for scores of programs needed to restore equal opportunity, from universal child care, to universal pre-K, to erasing student debt (big cheers).

Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigning for president at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

So the first part of her vision is to attack corruption that disrupts the stranglehold on government that money in politics plays, so we can fight back against score of big issues that have languished: climate change, gun safety

The second element is structural change in the economy – and on this, she has proposed a score of changes including tax reform, a living wage, changing the rules for mortgages and rentals and bankruptcy, investing in a Green New Deal and affordable housing.

The third element is protecting democracy.

“I will seek a Constitutional amendment to protect the right to vote and to get every vote counted; a law banning political gerrymandering (applause); to roll back every racist voter suppression law (big cheers), to overturn Citizen United (cheers of “Warren, Warren, Warren.).

And that’s what brought her to toasters.

“I think about toasters,” she turns and with a sly smile, says, “You are surprised?”

“I think about toasters. You are surprised?” Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigning for president at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

“When I was a young mother, toasters could burn down houses – they didn’t turn off. Ask me how I know,” (she again has that sly smile). Then along comes the Consumer Product Safety Board. Manufacturers were forced to put in safety switches.

“In the early 2000s, mortgages were so complex, dangerous that there was a one in five chance of a family losing their home through foreclosure. The federal government was not on the side of the people’s, but was deep in the pocket of banks, preying on the young, farmers, seniors, They crashed the economy.

“So I had the idea for an agency like the toaster agency, so that you can’t cheat people.

“People said, ‘You can’t make a difference. Don’t even try. You can’t get it done.

Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigning for president at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

“Big structural change is hard, but the right thing to do,” she said applying the lesson of having created the Consumer Financial Protection Board (chants of “CFPB”, “CFPB”) to take on Wall Street, which Obama signed into being in 2010. Since then, she said, more than $12 billion in ill-gotten gains from financial companies has been returned to consumers.

“We can make government work for people,” she said.

But, she said with an air of warning to those who would back a moderate candidate believing a moderate would have the best chance at defeating Trump in 2020, “We need big ideas to inspire people, to vote, to bring their friends out to vote, to tell the world who and what Democrats will fight for. To take back the Senate and put Mitch McConnell out of a job,” she declared, bringing the audience of 3000 to its feet with its loudest cheers.

Big cheers for Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigning for president at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

“We need big ideas and be willing to fight. But if we give up big ideas, if we only offer business as usual, Democrats will lose.

“I’m not running to appease big donors – I passed that stop sign a long time ago. This campaign is from the heart. 2020 is our moment. We will fight for a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and a 2 cent wealth tax.”

Posing for selfies. Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigning for president at Kings Theater, Brooklyn, had surpassed 100,000 selfies before coming to Brooklyn, Jan 7 2020 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Before coming to Brooklyn, Warren had held 199 town halls across the country and traveled to 29 states and Puerto Rico. She had taken over 100,000 selfies since the beginning of the campaign (20,000 of them in Washington Square Park, posing until midnight). She took her 100,000th selfie in Manchester, Iowa the Saturday before coming to Brooklyn. She had visited the boroughs of New York City and Queens and now Brooklyn. By the end of the Brooklyn event, with enthusiastic supporters lined up throughout the Kings Theater and down the street, Warren would have added some 3,000 more selfies to her total.

Outside the theater, a score of volunteers on every street corner were collecting signatures to meet the required 40,000 by January 21 deadline to be on New York’s ballot. The New York primary is April 28.

See also:

Warren Releases Plan to Fix Bankruptcy, Repeal Harmful Provisions of 2005 Bill She Fought Against

Warren’s Plans for Green New Deal Would Create 10.6 Million Green Jobs

Warren Releases Plan to Protect and Empower Renters

Warren Releases Plan to Reduce Health Care Costs and Transition to Medicare for All

Warren Details Plan to confront Crisis of Environmental Injustice

Warren Details Plan to Bolster Public Education

Warren Would Tax Excessive Lobbying as Part of Her Anti-Corruption Proposal

Warren Announces Her Plan for Immigration Reform

Warren Releases Plan to Protect Communities from Gun Violence

Warren Details Plan to Restore Trust in Federal Judiciary

Warren Tells Crowd of 20,000 in Washington Square Park: ‘We Can Root Out Corruption in Washington

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