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July 31, 2024
We Get to Decide What Is Possible Under a Future Harris Administration
I, Ilhan Omar, see a bright future under Kamala Harris. This is what it could look like if she wins.
(Andy Berndt)
On November 5, we get to decide what kind of country we want to be. We can choose to be a country that moves forward for progress or one that regresses. We can choose to live in a country that gives women autonomy over their bodies or one where decisions are made for them. We can choose to be a country that welcomes immigrants instead of one that demonizes them. We will have the power to choose a future based on hope over cynicism.
As soon as Biden announced he would not be seeking another term, I was proud to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election. She is not only in the best position to unite our party and beat Donald Trump. Her presumptive nomination is an opportunity to usher in an era of bold, progressive priorities that benefit everyday people.
At a time when more than one in three women live in states where reproductive rights are under assault—many with no exceptions for rape or incest—we need to codify Roe into federal law. That requires leaders who will fight unapologetically for reproductive freedom. Kamala Harris has a strong record of fiercely advocating for federal protections to codify reproductive rights. To cement federal action, we need a majority in both the House and Senate to get this done. Vice President Harris has the ability to energize our voter base to ensure that we regain the majority in the House and keep the Senate in Democratic control. As she outlined in her first week as the presumptive Democratic nominee, she will make this a top priority in her administration.
Healthcare is a human right. In the United States, no one should die because they cannot afford lifesaving care. We cannot resign as a country that denies coverage for people with preexisting conditions or one where quality mental health is only for the privileged few. Our healthcare system must ensure dignity and equality for all people, which is why it is crucial to move to a single-payer system. If Donald Trump is reelected and the Affordable Care Act is overturned, 21 million people risk losing their coverage. This is our opportunity to match every other major country and provide healthcare to everyone via Medicare for All.
The health of each of us is as important as the health of the world. As climate change continues to wreak havoc, it is more important than ever to have bold climate champions leading our country. This election is our chance to enact the Green New Deal that will help transition us to clean energy, creating good-paying union jobs while addressing the climate crisis. We can create the future our children deserve, including establishing national clean energy standards, guaranteeing clean water and air, ending fossil fuel subsidies for polluters, and building on the success of the Inflation Reduction Act by strengthening environmental justice law and ensuring that communities disproportionately impacted by climate change are protected.
If Trump is elected, our democracy will go on life support. Instead of corroding our democracy, Harris will safeguard it. If elected, we must push her to strengthen voting rights by passing a broad and comprehensive voting rights bill, like the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, that eliminates discrimination and barriers to voting and provides same-day, automatic, and online voter registration. Another barrier to free and fair elections is ending corruption and getting big money out of politics by eliminating corporate spending in elections. Our democracy should always be for the people by the people, not special interests. Under a Harris presidency, we must codify legal deference to federal expert agencies to crack down on corporate influence in federal regulations. Lastly, it is vital that we eliminate the filibuster, an undemocratic relic of the Jim Crow Era, to pass our progressive agenda. Over the years, the filibuster has stalled key pieces of landmark civil rights legislation, gun reform, and comprehensive immigration reform. We have the power to make our democracy work for all of us.
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Not to mention, millions of young people are saddled with student loan debt preventing them from homeownership, starting a family, or opening the small business they always dreamed of. As the president, I hope to see Harris build on President Biden’s record and pursue a transformative agenda that fights hard to cancel every penny of student loan debt and makes it easier for students to afford a higher education in the first place.
We must also foster the lives of parents, care workers, and caregivers. If the economy is not working for them, it is not working. We need to make it easier for parents to succeed which requires implementing universal paid family leave, affordable childcare, and an extension of the Child Tax Credit. These are all policies that can become a reality for every American under a Harris administration. When we lead with boldness—and I believe that Vice President Harris will—we can build a care economy that works for all of us.
Last but not least, I am hopeful we will listen to the clear call from millions of Americans for a permanent ceasefire. We must put an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza—a brutal military campaign that Vice President Harris has accurately described as a “humanitarian catastrophe.” I am optimistic that together we can usher in a new era of American foreign policy: one where the United States uses its power to push for peace and justice in Palestine and across the world, rather than enabling and aiding unspeakable atrocities in Gaza and growing settler violence in the West Bank. Harris has an opportunity to turn over a new leaf and demonstrate our party’s courage and commitment to ending the genocide not just in condemning it with words but also in action.
This agenda is a road map of what could be possible under a Harris administration. This is our chance to encourage her to implement the 100-day progressive agenda outlined by President Biden and go bolder. This election will not be won with fear but with hope. It will come down to our willingness to present voters with a vision of what we can accomplish, together. Democrats must provide voters with the antidote to Donald Trump, Project 2025, and the attempts to destroy our democracy. The winning message is clear—end the genocide, codify Roe, and champion a bold progressive economic agenda that allows everyone to lead healthy, dignified lives. This election, we have the chance to turn the page on Trump.
Harris is not only extremely qualified; she is an extremely kind and empathetic human being. When I first arrived in Washington after being elected, she was the first senator to reach out to me to provide wisdom and encouragement. As the first woman of color elected to the Senate to represent the state of California, she knew a few things about the difficulty of being a first. As someone who broke many barriers, she displayed immense warmth and compassion to me.
Not only is she the right candidate for the job, but her candidacy will mean that women, particularly women of color will finally be able to see themselves reflected in the highest office in the country. Representation is powerful. As Harris first addressed the nation as vice president, my then 8-year-old daughter Ilwad turned to me and said, “She looks like me, Hooyo.” Ilwad, inspired by the vice president and the powerful idea that she could accomplish anything and everything she set her mind to, went on to run for vice president—and became president—of her middle school.
That’s why I am committed to doing everything possible—as a member of Congress, as a progressive, as an organizer in my community, as a mother, as a Muslim, as a Black woman, and as an American, to push Vice President Harris to center these winning priorities so we can ensure Democrats win up and down the ballot all across the country in November.
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Representative Ilhan Omar
Representative Ilhan Omar represents Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District in the House of Representatives.
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