by Julia Conley, courtesy of commondreams.org –
After announcing that US Vice President Kamala Harris plans to take on corporate price gouging with the first-ever federal ban in the food and grocery industries, the Democratic presidential nominee’s campaign unveiled details about Harris’s broader economic agenda, making clear to advocates that she is focused on lowering numerous costs facing working households.
Along with a four-year plan to boost housing construction, provide financial help to first-time homebuyers, and rein in predatory corporate landlords, Harris announced plans to lower medical costs and provide financial assistance to new parents and families raising young children.
The proposals send the message that “the days of ‘what’s good for free enterprise is good for America’ are over,” Felicia Wong, president of the progressive think tank Roosevelt Forward, told The Washington Post.
“Harris has made a set of policy choices over the last several weeks that make it clear that the Democratic Party is committed to a pro-working, family agenda,” Wong said.
Within Harris’ plan to lower healthcare costs, the vice president will include proposals to expand Medicare’s cap on prescription drug costs at $2,000 annually to all Americans and to place a limit of $35 per month on insulin. Both policies are provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and currently apply only to Medicare recipients. As the Post reported, allowing all Americans to benefit from the price limits “could face resistance from the pharmaceutical industry and Republicans,” who have fought to block Medicare drug price negotiations that were also included in the IRA.
Harris said she would work to expedite those negotiations, the first round of which yielded lower costs for 10 widely used medications that were announced by the Biden administration in August.
The vice president would also work…
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