As Kamala Harris builds out her agenda as the Democratic nominee, there’s been plenty of speculation as to which Biden policies she will—or won’t—take up. We have our own take on what the Democratic nominee can do to win over the support of Americans (expanding upon Biden’s best work of naming, shaming and reining in corporations that exploit workers and consumers, for example.)
Backed by leading neoliberals like Matt Yglesias, billionaires are pushing Harris to move away from Biden’s anti-monopoly successes and fire one of the Biden-Harris administration’s most effective regulators—Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan.
To assess where Harris lands on anti-monopoly issues, we can take a look at what she has been saying on the campaign trail and in the White House. Harris’ embrace of messaging that vilifies corporations for exploiting Americans is promising sign that she’ll take up the anti-monopoly mantle:
- Harris is set to call for a ban on corporate price-gouging at her upcoming campaign speech in North Carolina this week. Her proposal would bolster the FTC’s authority to impose penalties on price-gouging corporations.
- Harris and Gov. Tim Walz’s staple stump speech includes promises that the Harris administration would make it a “day one” priority to bring down high prices by taking on corporations, including corporate landlords and Big Pharma.
- Harris has expressed that message in campaign stops including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Nevada.
- The Biden-Harris administration announced agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers to “lower prices for the first 10 drugs selected for the Medicare price negotiation program,” an act that will save Medicare enrollees $1.5 billon and American Taxpayers $6 billion.
- In a statement, Harris reiterated her commitment to lowering prescription drug costs, protecting patients and holding “Big Pharma accountable for their deceptive and illegal practices.”
- A Harris campaign ad targeting Latinos emphasized Harris’s record reining in corporations, including her actions to “beat the pharmaceutical companies to lower costs for insulin and prescriptions.” The campaign also promised that Harris would “stop the corporations who gouge our families on rent and groceries.”
- In response to the FTC’s win in court against Google for monopolization of the search market, the White House said Biden and Harris “have long said, Americans deserve an internet that is free, fair, and open for competition,” and called the ruling “a victory for the American people.”
- The Culinary Union, which endorsed Harris in August, applauded FTC Chair Lina Khan after meeting to discuss “high grocery prices & aiming to crack down on shady tactics corporations might be using to raise prices on working families,” hallmarks of Harris’ campaign platform.
Last updated 8/15/24.
IMAGE: Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at the kickoff for the Reproductive Freedoms Tour, Monday, January 22, 2024, at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 7 in Big Bend, Wisconsin. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)