Harris to unveil economic agenda that would crack down on ‘price gouging’ on food, groceries
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is set to release her economic agenda on Friday following calls for her campaign to zero in on policy after an unprecedented rise to the top of Democratic ticket.
Harris is set to outline her plans at an event in Raleigh, North Carolina — a pivotal battleground state both Harris and former President Donald Trump will work to win in November.
Among the economic policies Harris is set to announce is a plan to provide up to $25,000 in down-payment support for first-time homeowners, according to a campaign official.
The campaign is vowing that during her first term, the Harris-Walz administration would provide working families who have paid their rent on time for two years and are buying their first home up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance, with more generous support for first-generation homeowners.
She will also call for the construction of 3 million new housing units to end the housing supply shortage, her campaign said.
Harris also will propose a federal ban on “corporate price gouging” on food and groceries, the campaign said.
“In her first 100 days, Vice President Harris will work to enact a plan to bring down Americans’ grocery costs and keep inflation in check,” the campaign said.
Overall, her plans are being sold as a way to bring down everyday costs for Americans.
Harris will work to raise the minimum wage and end taxes on tips, her campaign said.
Her plan includes proposals to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare by building on Biden-era proposals such as lowering drug costs by capping the cost of insulin at $35 and out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs at $2,000 for everyone, not just seniors.
Harris will call for restoring the American Rescue Plan’s expanded Child Tax Credit and she will propose a new $6,000 Child Tax Credit for “families with children in the first year of life.”
Harris’ announcement comes on the heels of her first joint appearance with President Joe Biden since he stepped down as the Democratic Party’s nominee. Questions are mounting on whether or not she will choose to either distance herself or embrace the current administration’s “Bidenomics.”
For her part, Harris has maintained an interest in expanding popular Biden-era proposals such as the child tax credit and has shown staunch support of labor unions. Under the current administration, she has taken on reducing medical and student debt.
Harris’ economic plan will provide a split screen with Trump, who touched on his economic priorities in remarks on Wednesday. He has already criticized Harris for “copying” some of his own proposals after she announced eliminating taxes on tips in Las Vegas on Saturday, the same city he first mentioned it.
“She’s doing a plan, you know she’s going to announce it this week, maybe. She’s waiting for me to announce it so she can copy it,” said Trump while outlining his own broad policy ideas in Asheville, North Carolina on Wednesday. “Like, remember a couple days ago, and ‘we will have no tax on tips!’ I said, ‘that was my plan!”
Harris will also direct her administration to crack down on mergers and acquisitions between big food corporations, another way for the campaign to continue to highlight her role as a prosecutor.
The vice president has already distanced herself from some of her former positions laid out in her 2020 presidential bid. Her campaign has remained ambiguous over her support of banning fracking and Medicare for All, which she had previously espoused.
(WASHINGTON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, urging American leaders to provide more bipartisan support to Israel amid its ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza while also criticizing the protesters who have spoken out against the war that has left tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians killed.
Netanyahu was invited to speak primarily by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been severely critical of President Joe Biden’s response to the war, including pausing a shipment of large unguided U.S. bombs due to concerns about civilian casualties. Republicans have pushed back, saying that pausing that shipment violates Israel’s right to defend itself.
During his remarks, the prime minister called Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, “a day that will forever live in infamy,” comparing it to the attack on Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
Netanyahu, later in his remarks, cited Winston Churchill’s “give us the tools and we will finish the job” quote, in his appeal to American leaders for the continued support of Israel.
“I, too, appeal to America: Give us the tools faster and we’ll finish the job faster,” Netanyahu said. “Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and its role in Gaza and bring all our hostages home. That’s what total victory means. And we will settle for nothing less.”
Those remarks were met with some applause within the chamber, but many House Democrats remained seated and did not clap. While the chamber was packed, dozens of Democrats boycotted the speech.
In his speech, Netanyahu reiterated that “Israel will always defend itself.” At one point, he told the chamber: “Our enemies are your enemies. Our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory.”
Netanyahu spoke about the hostages taken on Oct. 7, directing the audience’s attention to Noa Argamani — the Israeli woman abducted from the Nova music festival and later rescued in a joint operation carried out by Israeli authorities after almost 250 days in captivity. She sat with Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was seated in Netanyahu’s box one row behind Sara Netanyahu and Argamani.
Several Israel Defense Forces soldiers were also in attendance, and Netanyahu shared each of their stories. Each time he did, members stood to face them and applaud, and the gallery also stood. When one of the soldiers, who lost a limb in battle, stood to put his crutch up in the air, it garnered explosive applause.
Netanyahu launched into his address seeking to strike a chord of unity in his appeal for sustained American support.
But not long into his speech, he departed from that tone — digging into domestic political divisions that have emerged in the wake of the war in Gaza.
Near the top of his remarks, he lauded Biden’s “half century of friendship to Israel” and support following the attacks of Oct. 7.
“He rightly called Hamas ‘sheer evil.’ He dispatched two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war. And he came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour — a visit that will never be forgotten,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister continued, expressing his gratitude to Biden “for being, as he said, a proud Zionist. Actually, as he says, a proud Irish American Zionist.” He also praised Biden’s leadership and assistance in helping to return hostages.
But later, playing to the other side of the aisle, Netanyahu also thanked former President Donald Trump for his role in brokering the Abraham Accords — saying it could pave the way for a new defensive alliance in the Middle East — as well as for more controversial moves, like recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Republicans stood up in unity when Netanyahu thanked Trump for everything he did for Israel.
Netanyahu also expressed Israel’s relief that the former president “emerged safe and sound from that dastardly attack on him, dastardly attack on American democracy.”
Netanyahu’s speech came as the prime minister has so far rejected Biden’s proposal for a cease-fire that would free the hostages Hamas still holds, as part of a larger regional peace plan.
Netanyahu’s visit also comes amid domestic political turmoil for both him and Biden, and questions about how Biden’s new lame-duck status will affect his ability to make any progress on ending the fighting, given his already fraught relationship with the Israeli leader.
Protesters had occupied parts of the U.S. Capitol complex on Tuesday and did so again on Wednesday ahead of Netanyahu’s speech.
U.S. Capitol Police claimed part of the crowd had “become violent” on Wednesday. The police said in a statement that they had to take action after a crowd at First Street and Constitution Avenue NW “failed to obey our order to move back from our police line.”
“We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line,” the police said roughly 20 minutes before Netanyahu’s speech started.
U.S. Capitol Police later said six people were removed from the House Galleries and arrested. “Disrupting the Congress and demonstrating in the Congressional Buildings is against the law,” police said. Johnson had threatened to have anyone who tried to disrupt the speech arrested. There were no disruptions on the House floor during the address.
Large-scale anti-Israel protests in support of the Palestinian cause this past spring on college campuses and across the country dominated U.S. politics for months and forced Biden to modify his previous full-throated support for the U.S. ally.
Netanyahu addressed protests during his speech, at points mocking protesters and claiming “many choose to stand with evil.”
“These protesters stand with them [Hamas]. They should be ashamed of themselves,” he said.
The prime minister also talked about protests that have taken place on some college campuses throughout the United States, slamming some school administrators for not doing enough to condemn antisemitism. He thanked a group of fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina who protected an American flag during a conflict with protesters. There was a large chant of “USA” by several Republican members after that moment, with some Democrats notably silent.
“My friends, whenever and wherever we see the scourge of antisemitism, we must unequivocally condemn it and resolutely fight it without exception,” Netanyahu said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attended the address, despite some harsh words he had for the prime minister in the spring. In March, Schumer called on Israel to hold new elections, saying at the time that he believed Netanyahu had “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Netanyahu criticized Schumer at the time for his remarks.
As Netanyahu approached the podium on Wednesday, he did not shake Schumer’s hand but thanked him for inviting him to Congress during his address.
“Even though I disagree with many of Bibi Netanyahu’s policies, I will attend the speech because the United States relationship with Israel remains ironclad and transcends any prime minister or president, and we must do all we can to get our hostages home,” Schumer said earlier Wednesday.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the House’s only Palestinian member, attended the address but remained silent throughout the event. She held up a small black-and-white sign that had two sides, one saying “guilty of genocide” and the other saying “war criminal.”
Vice President Kamala Harris wasn’t sitting behind Netanyahu in the vice president’s chair as she customarily would in her capacity as president of the Senate, as she attended a campaign event in Indianapolis instead.
“The idea that they’re making political calculations when our ally is in such dire straits fighting for its very survival and fighting back against the horrific attack of Oct. 7 is unconscionable to us,” Johnson said Tuesday of Harris’ absence.
The White House said Harris and Biden will meet with Netanyahu separately on Thursday instead. Trump said he will meet with Netanyahu on Friday at Mar-a-Lago.
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, a stalwart Israel supporter who is retiring, took Harris’ place on the House dais.
Congress sent $26 billion in aid to Israel and provided humanitarian relief for people in Gaza in April as part of a foreign aid package.
About $4 billion of that was dedicated to replenishing Israel’s missile defense systems. More than $9 billion of the total went toward humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu attended a memorial service for Sen. Joe Lieberman, a longtime supporter of Israel, who died in March.
(NEW YORK) — When Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met on the ABC News debate stage this week, the vice president reiterated her changed energy position, saying she would not institute a “fracking ban” if elected.
The debate was held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania is a key swing state in the race with the second-highest oil and gas economy in the country.
“Let’s talk about fracking because we’re here in Pennsylvania,” Harris said Tuesday evening.
Harris vowed she would not enact a national ban on fracking despite having voiced support for anti-drilling measures at a climate crisis town hall in 2019, during her first campaign for the White House.
When she joined President Joe Biden’s ticket, however, she moved away from that stance and helped pass the administration’s landmark 2022 infrastructure bill — which invests in both domestic oil production and green energy solutions.
“I will not ban fracking. I have not banned fracking as vice president of the United States. And, in fact, I was the tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which opened new leases for fracking,” Harris said Tuesday.
Energy experts told ABC News after the debate that Harris and Trump’s conversation surrounding fracking was misleading on both sides of the aisle, saying the president has less control over fracking than may be publicly perceived.
“I heard some confusion on both sides, really, in the debate last night, when we talk about fracking,” Tim Tarpley, president of the Energy Workforce and Technology Council, told ABC News.
“Both candidates were throwing around this so-called fracking ban to each other, but there wasn’t a lot of clarity about what they were actually talking about and how that would actually work in practice,” Tarpley added.
The Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
What is fracking?
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is an extraction technique used to recover oil and gas from shale rock, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Producers drill into the earth and direct a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals at shale rock layers to release the gas inside.
Fracking accounts for the bulk of America’s domestic oil and gas production with 95% of new wells being hydraulically fractured, creating two-thirds of the total U.S. gas market and about half of U.S. crude oil production, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
Can it be banned?
On the debate stage, Trump went after Harris’ energy position, saying, “She will never allow fracking in Pennsylvania. If she won the election, fracking in Pennsylvania will end on Day 1.”
The notion that a president could ban all fracking in America is misleading, with Congress ultimately having the final say on such actions.
Additionally, fracking wells in the U.S. are predominantly on private land, with federal land leases only accounting for 24% of the total number of wells. The president’s jurisdiction over banning fracking would only account for federal land, according to Tarpley and the American Petroleum Institute.
“When we get into this back-and-forth on the leases, it’s very important to know it is only 24% of total production, most of productions on private land. So I think, I think those facts are important to point out, as we have that discussion,” Tarpley said.
While Trump did not lay out his energy plan during the debate Tuesday, the former president has been vocal about approving increased fracking leases on federal land and reviving plans for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, which Biden canceled after taking office.
Why is this important in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania sits atop the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation that covers about two-thirds of the state. The massive oil-producing shale also extends into parts of New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and Virginia.
As of April 2024, the Marcellus Shale contained about 120 million barrels of oil, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
David Callahan, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), told ABC News “The natural gas industry is very important to Pennsylvania.”
Housing 11,000 fracking wells in the state, Pennsylvania accounted for 18% of the total U.S. natural gas production and 32% of U.S. shale gas production, according to Callahan and MSC data shared with ABC News from 2022.
That same year, the industry contributed more than $41 billion in economic activity, which said boosted the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) by nearly $25 billion, according to according to MSC.
The oil and gas industry also equates for a large portion of the state’s workforce. In 2022, the industry supported 123,000 jobs, with an average wage of $97,000, according to MSC.
Will fracking ever make the U.S. energy independent?
United States continues to produce and export the most crude oil out of any country, at any time, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, crude oil production averaged 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023, breaking the previous U.S. and global record of 12.3 million, set in 2019 under Trump’s leadership, according to the agency.
Harris touted this boom during the debate while promoting more investments in diverse sources of energy to “reduce our reliance on foreign oil.”
“We have had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes that we cannot over-rely on foreign oil,” Harris said.
Experts say, however, energy independence is not as cut and dry as one might think, with the global oil market being deeply embedded into production needs and refining capabilities.
“Even in a scenario where we were producing enough oil and gas here in the United States to be completely self-sufficient, we wouldn’t necessarily have the refining capacity,” Tarpley said.
Many American refineries were largely built before the nation’s fracking boom over the last 20 years, according to Tarpley, which means the infrastructure is designed to process heavier crude oil, predominately from Russia and the Middle East.
Energy independence won’t be found at the bottom of an American fracking well, he says, because “those refining assets cannot easily be retooled to take U.S. crude.”
Alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and nuclear power are not limited to the same global constraints but are not yet at the infrastructure capacity to meet energy needs.
In 2023, the United States generated about 4,178 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity from utility-scale generators, according to the U.S. Energy Information Association.
Of that, approximately 19% came from nuclear energy, 21% from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and 60% from oil and gas.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised the Secret Service for stopping an apparent assassination attempt Sunday, speaking in a phone interview with ABC News.
“I’m fine. The Secret Service did a good job, actually,” he said.
A Secret Service agent fired several shots at Ryan Wesley Routh, who was allegedly concealed in a tree line armed with a rifle at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, about 300 to 500 yards from the Republican presidential nominee, authorities said.
The suspect was able to get into a car and drive off, but was stopped by law enforcement.
He appeared in court on Monday and currently faces two felony gun charges. The investigation is ongoing.
Trump spoke about the heightened threat environment, telling ABC News, “Probably always been dangerous, but it’s more so now, I think.”
He reiterated satisfaction with how the Secret Service handled Sunday’s incident.
“On that on that event, I thought they were excellent,” he said.
Trump also discussed his phone call with President Joe Biden following the incident, calling the conversation “very, very nice.”
“He called me just to, you know, express his sort of horror that a thing like that could happen. But it was a very good conversation,” Trump said.
Trump said Biden told him he wants to be sure the Secret Service has all the resources it needs to do its job, adding, “I hope that is the case.”