The evolution of Harris' stances on health care, fracking, Supreme Court

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When then-Sen. Kamala Harris was moving for the 2020 Democratic information for president with 1 of the astir wide voting records successful the Senate, hers was a long-shot candidacy.

But now, little than 5 years later, arsenic the Democratic statesmanlike nominee, Harris is moderating immoderate of her much arguable argumentation positions. 

With hardly 80 days to spell until Election Day, Harris is apt to request autarkic voters to prevail successful a competitory contention against erstwhile President Donald Trump successful the wide predetermination this fall. She's spent 3.5 years successful the enforcement subdivision examining and reconsidering immoderate of her argumentation stances, and determination person been immoderate shifts. 

"The vice president's positions person been shaped by 3 years of effectual governance arsenic portion of the Biden-Harris administration," a Harris run advisor said. Less than a period into her statesmanlike candidacy, Harris and her advisers are inactive moving connected the large positions and argumentation initiatives she'll unveil implicit the people of the campaign.

Trump, who has shifted his ain argumentation stances done the years connected issues similar abortion, mail-in voting and more, is calling Harris a "chameleon." 

A period into her abrupt statesmanlike campaign, Harris has truthful acold offered small caller successful the mode of policy. But she has shifted her stances connected a fistful of issues since she archetypal ran for president. A run spokesperson described Harris' attack arsenic "pragmatic," contrasting her with Trump's "extreme ideas successful his Project 2025 agenda." 

"It is that attack that made it imaginable for the Biden-Harris medication to execute bipartisan breakthroughs connected everything from infrastructure to weapon unit prevention," Harris run spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said. "As president, she volition instrumentality that aforesaid pragmatic approach, focusing connected common-sense solutions for the involvement of progress."

Single-payer wellness attraction and "Medicare for all"

During her 2019 campaign, Harris' presumption connected the aboriginal of backstage wellness security was sometimes confusing. Joe Biden's run manager astatine the time, Kate Bedingfield, said of Harris that she had a " agelong and confusing signifier of equivocating astir (her) stance connected wellness attraction successful America."

During a superior statement successful 2019, Harris raised her manus erstwhile moderators asked candidates if they would get escaped of backstage wellness insurance. She rapidly walked that back, saying that no, she would not enactment to destruct backstage wellness insurance. 

Earlier that year, successful April 2019, Harris co-sponsored Sen. Bernie Sanders' "Medicare for All" bill, which would person ended backstage wellness security and replaced it with a azygous government-run insurer for everyone successful America.

Harris released a wellness attraction program successful 2019 that would person enactment the U.S. connected a way to government-backed wellness security implicit 10 years but would not wholly eliminating backstage wellness insurance. 

"We volition let backstage insurers to connection Medicare plans arsenic portion of this strategy that adhere to strict Medicare requirements connected costs and benefits," Harris said astatine the time. "Medicare volition acceptable the rules of the roadworthy for these plans, including terms and quality, and backstage security companies volition play by those rules, not the different mode around."

Harris volition not propulsion for single-payer authorities wellness security arsenic president, according to a run official. 

The vice president plans to enactment connected bringing down wellness attraction prices by different means, including the administration's current efforts to person Medicare negociate with cause manufacturers to bring down the costs of immoderate drugs, the run authoritative said. At a caller lawsuit successful Atlanta, Harris vowed to "take connected Big Pharma to headdress medicine cause costs for each Americans," and Mr. Biden and Harris announced Thursday that Medicare reached agreements with cause manufacturers connected little prices for 10 drugs selected for the administration's archetypal circular of negotiation. The drugs are utilized to dainty bosom failure, humor clots, diabetes, arthritis, Crohn's illness and different illnesses and conditions.

"Our program volition little costs and prevention galore mediate people families thousands of dollars a year," Harris said. 

Fracking

As a campaigner successful September 2019, Harris said during a CNN municipality hall determination was "no question I'm successful favour of banning fracking." 

"And starting with what we tin bash connected Day One astir nationalist lands, right?" she said astatine the time. "And past determination has to beryllium legislation, but yes — and this is thing I've taken connected successful California. I person a past of moving connected this issue.... We person to conscionable admit that the residual interaction of fracking is tremendous successful presumption of the interaction connected the wellness and information of communities." 

Fracking is abbreviated for hydraulic fracturing, the extraction of lipid and earthy state from stone formations with drilling and chemicals. 

At a Pennsylvania rally earlier this month, Trump said Harris is "against fracking, she's against lipid drilling" and would prohibition it.

But the Harris run is ambiguous astir wherever she stands now, pointing to her enactment for cleanable vigor and the maturation successful vigor jobs nether the Biden administration. 

"Vice President Harris was arrogant to formed the tie-breaking ballot connected the largest ever concern to code the clime situation and nether the Biden-Harris administration, America is much vigor unafraid than ever earlier with the highest home vigor accumulation connected record," a run spokesperson said. "...Vice President Harris is focused connected a aboriginal wherever each Americans person cleanable air, cleanable water, and affordable, reliable vigor portion Trump's lies are an evident effort to distract from his ain plans to enrich lipid and state executives astatine the disbursal of the mediate class."

The Biden medication has worked to marque it much costly for lipid and state companies to frack connected nationalist lands but hasn't banned fracking connected nationalist lands. 

The size of the Supreme Court 

When she was moving for president, Harris said she was unfastened to pursuing expanding the Supreme Court. During a forum successful New Hampshire successful May 2019, Harris was asked however she felt astir adding much justices to the nine-member court. She said she was "interested successful having that conversation." 

The Harris run isn't elaborating overmuch connected wherever Harris stands now, but that a run authoritative said she supports the proposed Supreme Court reforms Mr. Biden announced past month. 

Those reforms entailed imposing word limits for justices, requiring them to comply with binding morals rules and ratifying a law amendment that would bounds statesmanlike immunity. Mr. Biden's projected reforms did not see expanding the size of the court. All of those changes would necessitate immense enactment from Congress.