What a Kamala Harris Presidency Could Mean for Consumer Protections
One of Kamala Harris‘ major achievements as California’s attorney general was winning a $20 billion settlement from big banks on behalf of homeowners who faced foreclosure during the financial crisis of the 2000s. That settlement was roughly 10 times more than what the banks originally offered, Fortune reported.
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Now that Harris has emerged as the likely Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election, her policies on consumer protection have come under more scrutiny. Despite her willingness to go toe-to-toe with big banks during the financial crisis, many experts believe Harris will aim for compromise with corporate interests as president.
Here’s a look at four areas she could have an impact.
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1. Data Privacy
As California AG, Harris took steps to “crack down” on data privacy violations, Politico reported, earning her high marks from privacy advocacy organizations
“Given her past positions, we expect that a Harris administration would push for guardrails to ensure the use of AI is rights-preserving and advances equity, be strong on data privacy issues, and hold Big Tech to account to advance consumer and civil rights,” Caitriona Fitzgerald, deputy director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told Politico.
2. Medical Debt
Harris has been a major public voice in the Biden administration’s quest to ease the burden of medical debt and protect consumers from high healthcare costs, according to the American Presidency Project.
As CNN reported in 2022, that effort included having the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services evaluate how the billing practices of healthcare providers impact the access and affordability of care and the accrual of medical debt. The agency aimed to weigh this information in its grant-making decisions.
“No one in our nation should have to go bankrupt just to get the health care they need,” Harris said in a statement at the time.
3. College Affordability
Harris has been one of the administration’s leading advocates for student debt forgiveness and is expected to continue those efforts as president. As a U.S. senator she supported initiatives to make college tuition-free for certain families, Politico reported. She has also led efforts to protect consumers from for-profit schools with questionable credentials.
“The vice president understands borrowers’ struggles and has fought tirelessly to address the student debt crisis head on,” Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, told Politico.
4. Big Pharma
Part of Harris’ focus as California AG was to take on pharmaceutical and healthcare giants accused of anti-competitive practices.
“She has been willing to take on the drug companies, the hospitals, on the issue of anti-competitive pricing, on those drivers of high health costs,” Anthony Wright of Families USA told Politico. “Given her background, she might lean into them more [as president].”
But Chip Kahn, president and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, said it’s “hard to imagine” a Harris administration doing more on anti-competitive practices than Biden.
“Going into the future, I assume you’re going to be dealing mostly with the current agenda,” he told Politico.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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