Vice President Kamala Harris — Resources

Updated Tuesday 9/10/24 at 8:50 pm EST

President Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him. Below is a list of VP Harris’ qualifications and accomplishments.

Kamala Harris’ qualifications:

Vice President of the United States (2021 - Present)

President of the US Senate (2021 - Present)

  • Set a record for the most tie-breaking votes cast by a VP in history
  • Presided over vote to confirm Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court

United States Senator (2017 - 2021)

  • Served on key committees such as Judiciary Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

Attorney General of California (2011 - 2017)

  • Oversaw the largest state justice department in the country

District Attorney of San Francisco (2004 - 2011)

  • Established the office’s environmental justice unit
  • Created a ground-breaking program to provide first-time drug offenders with the opportunity to earn a high school degree and find employment

Family and Children's Services Division Lead at San Francisco City Hall (2000 - 2003)

  • Focused on child abuse and neglect cases

Assistant District Attorney — San Francisco (1998 - 2000)

  • Served as chief of the Career Criminal Division, supervising five other attorneys

Deputy District Attorney — Alameda County

  • Specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases

Law degree — University of California Hastings College of Law

  • Served as president of the university’s Black Law Students Association chapter

Undergraduate degree — Economics & Political Science — Howard University

Click each section to see some of VP Harris’ accomplishments:

Taking on Big Banks

Kamala Harris won a massive $20 Billion settle for California homeowners

Kamala Harris fought for homeowners during the mortgage crisis — and won

  • “State Attorney General Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the nationwide settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses could be worth up to $18 billion to Californians who were among those hardest hit by the crisis.”

As Senator, Kamala Harris fought against Trump’s questionable banking practices

Kamala Harris has a long history of standing up to big banks that try to take advantage of Americans

Safe and Affordable Housing

Senator Kamala Harris teamed up with Rep Waters to fight for affordable housing

Senator Kamala Harris repeatedly introduced bills to help Americans with the rising cost of rent

Vice President Kamala Harris is actively helping to expand and increase affordable housing

Kamala Harris has consistently worked to improve housing safety

Immigration Policy

“I’ve worked with many elected officials and heard many promises, but this was the first time I heard an elected official show up and be there and not shy away after their race was over. [Kamala Harris] has been checking in with immigrant rights groups regularly.”

-Polo Morales, political director for The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)

Senator Kamala Harris was the first Senate Democrat to announce she would vote against any spending deal that did not include a DACA fix, setting the bar for other Democrats

Senator Kamala Harris kept DACA recipients front and center and successfully pushed the Democratic Party to do the same

The first bill Kamala Harris introduced in Congress was the Access to Counsel Act, to ensure basic legal and human rights protections for people detained at the border

  • Under the bill, if a person detained at the border asks to speak to their attorney, they must be allowed to do so.
  • It would also increase access to attorneys for unaccompanied children fleeing violence in Central and South America.
  • It would also require that people detained at the border or another point of entry have the opportunity to access an attorney before they can relinquish their legal status.
  • It would also require that people be held for as short a time as possible, and have access to food, water and toilets while they are held.
  • It would also require that, if an attorney is not physically available, there is an option to speak to them by phone or video.

Senator Kamala Harris led the fight to prevent John Kelly from becoming Trump’s Department of Homeland Security Director

In 2017, the membership director at United We Dream (the biggest DREAMer advocacy organization) said that Senator Kamala Harris “is modeling the kind of leadership we should expect from other Democrats…I see her as our new emerging champion in the Senate.”

Attorney General Kamala Harris regularly connected legislators with immigrants and immigration nonprofits

Attorney General Kamala Harris crafted legislation that put millions of dollars into legal services for the refugees of the child migrant crisis

Attorney General Kamala Harris personally met with many immigrants to learn about their experiences and their struggles

Attorney General Kamala Harris “personally helped write California’s brief in US vs. Texas, the case over the constitutionality of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program that made it to the Supreme Court”

Attorney General Kamala Harris made clear to California law enforcement “that they could not hold immigrants indefinitely”

As district attorney of San Francisco, Kamala Harris created free legal clinics in immigrant-heavy parts of the city

Kamala Harris “has a real-world understanding of how immigration policy intersects [with] criminal justice policy on the ground. This stuff is personal to her. She is an expert on the issue.”
-Daniel Suvor, who served for three years as Harris’s chief of policy in the AG’s office

“There’s been no new voice on this issue more electrifying than hers…Harris was the first Senate Democrat to say exactly what activists and those terrified by the threat of deportation for DACA recipients have been waiting to hear.”

-Ben Wikler, Washington director at MoveOn.org

Criminal Justice & Justice System Reform

Kamala Harris helped lead Senate Dems’ work to pass sweeping police reform bills after George Floyd's death

Kamala Harris has consistently pushed for transparency in policing, and led the first statewide agency in the country to use a policy body camera program

Kamala Harris introduced a bill to require the Department of Homeland Security to create pilot body camera programs for border patrol and immigration enforcement agents

Kamala Harris launched Back on Track, a reentry initiative aimed at reducing individuals returning to jail/prison

Attorney General Kamala Harris worked to stop people from ending up back in jail/prison

Kamala Harris developed the Bureau of Children’s Justice (BCJ) to support the legal rights of children

Kamala Harris worked with Rand Paul on a bipartisan bail reform bill

Kamala Harris teamed up with Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Richard Durbin to introduce the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act

Kamala Harris joint sponsored a bill to make lynching a federal crime

As California Attorney General, Kamala Harris fought to increase transparency and decrease racial bias in the justice system

Kamala Harris launched and later expanded implicit bias police trainings

Prosecuting Human Trafficking & Drug Trafficking

Maternal Health

Vice President Kamala Harris launched the first-ever Maternal Health Day of Action

VP Harris has regularly worked to decrease maternal death rates and save mothers’ lives

Kamala Harris is fighting to end maternal health disparities and save Black moms’ lives

Abortion Rights & Reproductive Freedom

VP Kamala Harris leads the White House push for abortion rights and reproductive freedom

Kamala Harris fought for abortion rights in the US Senate

As Senator, Kamala Harris worked to oppose anti-abortion bills and judges

Lowering Prescription Drug Costs

As attorney general, Kamala Harris won several fights with big pharma over unlawful drug pricing and marketing practices.

Kamala Harris has a plan to lower national drug prices by authorizing the federal government to set the rates for certain prescription drugs.

  • Harris’ plan, titled “People Over Profit,” contains similar provisions to legislation rolled out by Senator Bernie Sanders, which Harris co-sponsored.
  • Harris’ plan also contains provisions such as importing drugs from Canada and penalizing drug makers for raising prices faster than inflation.
  • The plan slaps a tax of 100% on all profits drug makers earn from selling a drug above the set fair price.

Kamala Harris has stated that, if Congress fails to act to lower drug prices, she could use executive actions as president to launch an investigation into drug makers who sell medications at lower prices in comparable developed countries or increase their prices faster than inflation.

Harris Cosponsored the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act

  • Would require the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services negotiate the prices of covered drugs and either establish a formulary for covered drugs, or require changes to PDP formularies that take into account CMS negotiations. [S. 99, 116th Congress]

“The Biden-Harris administration has been by far the strongest yet in challenging outrageous drug prices and starting the country down a long road toward medicine affordability.” -Peter Maybarduk, director of the access to medicines program at Public Citizen

Health Care  

As California Attorney General, Kamala Harris fought to lower medical costs

  • “She took on the drug and hospital industry as California attorney general, seeking consumer relief from anti-competitive pricing.”

Attorney General Kamala Harris shut down scam health care websites

Kamala Harris has consistently fought to tackle the Opioid Crisis

Kamala Harris works to address health disparities

Kamala Harris fights for accessible, affordable health care

Kamala Harris is supports 6 months paid family & medical leave

Mental Health Care

Lowering Costs for Workers & Families

VP Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act

VP Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to expand the child tax credit through the American Rescue Plan, and has advocated for it across the country ever since

As Senator, Kamala Harris consistently fought for tax credits for low and middle-income workers

VP Harris recently announced a new rule to prohibit medical bills from being included on credit reports

See also: Lowering Prescription Drug Costs

Good Jobs & a Living Wage

In the Senate, Kamala introduced the 21st Century SKILLS Act to connect unemployed, dislocated, or underemployed workers with skills training, union apprenticeships, and other educational opportunities.

For years, Kamala Harris has actively supported raising the federal minimum wage

Standing with Workers & Unions

As Attorney General, Kamala Harris won settlements with companies that mistreated workers

As Senator, Kamala Harris introduced and fought to create a “domestic workers’ bill of rights”

VP Kamala Harris helped lead the push for more unionized federal workers

Kamala Harris fights for farm workers and food service workers

Senator Harris repeatedly introduced legislation to provide overtime pay for farmworkers

Kamala Harris consistently shows up to labor protests, stands with workers, and supports efforts to unionize

VP Kamala Harris chairs the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment

As Attorney General, Kamala Harris worked with the U.S. Department of Labor to combat wage theft

Kamala Harris has a clear, longstanding record of standing with unions and workers

Combating Hunger & Supporting Farm Workers

Senator Kamala Harris fought to feed low-income kids and seniors

  • Kamala Harris introduced the FEMA Empowering Essential Deliveries (FEED) Act to let the federal government pay all costs necessary to allow states and localities to partner with restaurants and nonprofits to prepare nutritious meals for vulnerable people such as low-income children and seniors

Senator Kamala Harris worked to feed American families impacted by the pandemic

  • Kamala Harris introduced the Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2020 to expand Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for Americans in need during the pandemic.

Senator Kamala Harris has consistently worked to feed students

Kamala fights to support the people who provide our food

Senator Harris repeatedly introduced legislation to provide overtime pay for farmworkers

Environment, Energy, & Climate Justice

As California AG, Kamala Harris Took a Political Risk to Fight Climate Change

Attorney General Kamala Harris prosecuted polluters in California

Kamala Harris helped secure funds for clean and renewable energy

Kamala Harris helped secure funding to fix wildfire damage and prevent future wildfires

  • “November’s federal infrastructure bill includes $3.2 billion over five years for wildfire prevention”

Kamala Harris helped secure funding for drought resistance

Kamala Harris teamed up with Cory Booker & Tammy Duckworth to fight for climate justice

Kamala Harris is working to address climate change

Clean Water

“[Harris] has introduced water legislation that emphasizes racial and economic justice and would provide…federal funding that will be necessary to provide safe, affordable drinking water for all.” -Mary Grant, Food & Water Watch’s Public Water for All campaign director

Kamala Harris has consistently championed lead pipe removal projects

Kamala Harris pushed for a comprehensive investment to keep water affordable as part of the coronavirus relief package

Kamala Harris worked with experts to introduce and champion several water quality bills

Broadband Internet

VP Harris helped secure high-speed broadband internet access for millions of American households


VP Harris helped expand high-speed broadband internet access for rural Americans

Elder Care & Support for Seniors

Kamala Harris fought hard against Trump’s Plans To Slash Medicare and Medicaid

  • 2019: Harris called Trump’s budget proposals to cut Medicare “yet another piece of evidence for why we need a new president.”
  • “This budget says a lot about the President’s priorities: cut $845 billion from Medicare, while spending billions on his vanity project, the wall. This would hurt our seniors and is yet another piece of evidence for why we need a new president.” -KamalaHarris, 3/11/19
  • 2017: Harris voted against Trump’s plan to slash Medicare by $473 Billion.
  • Harris voted against the FY 2018 budget resolution, which included $473 billion in cuts to Medicare over 10 years.
  • H Con Res 71, Vote #245, 10/19/17
  • Vox, 10/26/17
  • 2017: Harris Voted Against Trump’s Plan To Slash $1.3 Trillion From Medicaid.
  • Harris voted against the FY 2018 budget resolution, which cut funding for non-Medicare health programs, most notably Medicaid, by 1.3 trillion, a 20 percent cut over the course of 10 years, increasing to a 29.3 percent cut by 2027.
  • H Con Res 71, Vote #245, 10/19/17
  • Vox, 10/26/17

Senator Kamala Harris joint sponsored legislation to expand Social Security benefits and “strengthen the retirement program for generations to come.”

  • The Social Security Expansion Act sought to increase benefits by about $1,342 a year for seniors making less than $16,000 annually and increase cost-of-living adjustments by more accurately measuring the spending patterns of seniors.

Attorney General Kamala Harris fought to stop elder abuse

Kamala Harris Cosponsored Legislation To Block The Expansion Of “Junk” Insurance Plans

  • Harris cosponsored a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn a Trump administration health care policy that allows the expansion of short term health care plans that do not have to guarantee coverage for pre-existing conditions or cover essential health benefits (SJ Res 52, 116th Congress)
  • “Time and time again, this administration has attempted to strip away protections for the millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions, and their latest attempt to sell junk health care plans is no different.” - Sen. Kamala Harris Press Release, 8/1/19

“Senator Harris has supported expanding Medicare and doing so in a way that maintains choice for beneficiaries among plan options, which resonates with Vice President Biden’s proposal to give individuals age 60 and above the option of enrolling in Medicare and offering a public option more broadly.”-Dr. Zirui Song of the department of health care policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston

Video: Caregivers for Kamala


Kamala Harris: A Tireless Champion For Health Care

LGBTQ+ Rights

Kamala Harris led the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in California

Kamala Harris fought to stop hate crimes against LGBTQ+ youth

Kamala Harris abolished gay & transgender “panic defenses in criminal trials

Attorney General Kamala Harris officiated the first same-sex marriages in California after Prop 8 fell

Kamala Harris has taken a lead role in advocating for LGBTQ+ rights as Vice President

President Biden has honored Kamala Harris’ work on marriage equality

Gun Safety

Education

Kamala Harris held predatory for-profit schools accountable

Kamala Harris secured funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

Kamala Harris fought to expand access to STEM

Kamala Harris helped secure funding for new and improved school buses

  • “Harris, while in the Senate in 2019, had originally sponsored legislation to provide funding to electrify the nation’s school buses”

Kamala Harris is working to stop banks from taking advantage of student borrowers

Kamala Harris fights for low-income students

Kamala Harris supported educator strikes in Los Angeles and in Oakland, California

Kamala Harris has consistently fought for students

Kamala Harris has consistently fought for teachers

Democracy & Functioning Government

VP Kamala Harris has cast 33 tie-breaking votes in the US Senate, often to confirm key judicial and commission nominees to keep government systems functioning smoothly

California Attorney General Kamala Harris fought for transparency in politics by attempting to make the Koch brothers reveal the names of donors who contributed more than $5,000 to their Americans for Prosperity Foundation.

Kamala Harris regularly speaks out for women in government

As Vice President, Kamala Harris has stood up for democracy “at home and abroad”

Voting Rights

Kamala Harris fought for voting rights as a US Senator

VP Kamala Harris is leading the White House fight for voting rights

Kamala Harris is working to ensure all Americans can exercise their right to vote

Supporting Military Veterans

  • “AG Harris charged the group with ‘excessive compensation’ for its executives, as well as ‘improperly divert[ing]’ funds to purchase country club memberships and a suburban Washington, D.C. condominium (and, apparently, simply pocketing money for themselves along the way).”

  • “In 2013, as CA attorney general, Harris sued Corinthian Colleges, a now-defunct chain of for-profit schools that aggressively targeted veterans in its deceptive advertising.”

  • In 2016, AG Kamala Harris won a $1.1 billion judgment against Corinthian Colleges “for practices including advertising inflated job placement rates and using official military seals in its marketing without authorization.”

  • As Senator, Kamala Harris co-signed a letter with other Senators shaming the Trump administration's VA leadership for creating “access standards that ‘will significantly increase the overall cost and amount of care VA will send to the community’ without consulting Congress.”

Foreign Policy

Kamala Harris has repeatedly called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza

Kamala Harris has been working behind the scenes and publicly to demand more humanitarian aid in Gaza

Kamala Harris has consistently been critical of Israeli government while supportive of Israeli citizens

VP Kamala Harris has repeatedly met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and consistently pushes for continued US support of Ukraine

Kamala Harris launched and ran the “Central America Forward” Initiative

Kamala Harris traveled to Singapore and Vietnam in 2021 to strengthen relationships and expand economic cooperation

See also: Kamala Harris’ extensive policy experience on immigration

Marijuana Policy

Kamala is working to decriminalize and legalize marijuana

Transportation

Kamala Harris recognized California’s transportation struggles and fought to fund improvements

Kamala Harris understood before many politicians that mobility is a human rights issue — and leaders must be bold in addressing it

Additional Work & Wins

Kamala Harris works to support Indigenous communities

VP Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass COVID relief for Americans

Kamala Harris chaired the National Space Council