While the political jockeying gets more attention, candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential race are advancing serious policy proposals. The Washington Times takes a weekly look at some of them that may have flown under the radar.
Rep. Seth Moulton on Thursday said that if elected he would retroactively grant honorable discharges to U.S. troops dismissed over the years because of their sexual orientation or “homosexual activity.”
Mr. Moulton, a combat veteran, estimated that since World War II about 100,000 troops have been kicked out of the service “just for being gay,” and his campaign said that even after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the burden of challenging a discharge status is still on the veteran.
“We’ve changed the policy, but we haven’t gone back to fix the discharges of those people who were kicked out,” the Massachusetts Democrat said on CNN.
He said he would put the burden of proof on the military to justify less-than-honorable discharges, and in cases when the Pentagon couldn’t prove its case, each veteran’s discharge status would be automatically upgraded to “honorable.”
Not being honorably discharged can prevent veterans from receiving certain federal health benefits and makes them ineligible for GI Bill benefits, Mr. Moulton’s campaign said.
“It takes a lot of courage to fight. I think it takes even more courage to fight while hiding a part of who you are, and that’s what so many gay and bisexual veterans had to do for generations,” he said.
O’Rourke on voting rights
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke called for bolstering same-day voting registration, vote-by-mail and early voting efforts, creating a national Election Day holiday and undercutting states that have enacted voter-ID laws.
The Texas Democrat set a goal of registering 50 million new voters and having 35 million of them cast ballots by 2024. He said he’s looking for Election Day turnout of an almost-unheard of 65 %.
“The only way to make progress is if every single American is empowered to vote — and those who have historically been drawn out of our democracy are able to make their voices heard so that this country can live up to its full promise and potential,” Mr. O’Rourke said Wednesday.
His plan would push automatic pre-registration of 16- and 17-year-olds, and encourage registration efforts at high schools and colleges.
Mr. O’Rourke also proposed 12-year term limits for the U.S. House and Senate and 18 years for Supreme Court justices. His campaign said it would clear the way for “new leaders” who could inspire a new generation of voters.
Mr. O’Rourke also wants to curb the influence of political action committees with new disclosure rules and contribution limits, and put new lobbying and financial restrictions on people who hold elected office.
Booker on affordable housing
Sen. Cory Booker on Wednesday announced a plan to boost affordable housing by offering a “renters” tax credit designed to cap the amount of rent people pay at 30 % of their pre-tax income.
His campaign estimated the credit, which is similar to one proposed by 2020 rival Sen. Kamala Harris, would benefit more than 57 million people and that the median credit for a family would be $4,800. It would partly be paid for by rolling back recent changes to the estate tax.
“Access to safe, affordable housing can be transformative in the trajectory of people’s lives,” Mr. Booker said. “My parents knew this when they moved my brother and me to a New Jersey town with good public schools in the face of racial discrimination. The tenants I represented against slumlords when I first moved to Newark knew it, too. So did my neighbors in Brick Towers.”
His plan would dangle federal money to localities to get them to change zoning rules to expand the pool of affordable housing, put more money into the housing trust fund for new construction, and encourage states and localities to make sure tenants have the right to a lawyer in eviction proceedings.
Mr. Booker also said he would emphasize anti-discrimination policies in housing.
Warren on ’green’ manufacturing
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday announced a $2 trillion plan to invest in “green” manufacturing, calling it a key part of a broader “Green New Deal” to aggressively cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade.
She would spend $400 billion on clean energy research and development, $1.5 trillion to help fund federal procurement of American-made renewable products, and $100 billion to promote American-made technology to other countries.
Ms. Warren said that even if the country meets the Green New Deal’s goals over the next decade, that’s still not enough to meet global needs to avert a “climate crisis.”
“To satisfy this global need, we need rapid innovation on par with the space race along with widespread domestic and international adoption of clean, renewable, and emission-free energy technology,” she said in a Medium post. “This is a challenge — but like the challenges America has faced before, it is also an opportunity.”
She said the new spending would be paid for with a new tax on corporate profits, ending federal subsidies for oil and natural gas companies and killing some existing tax breaks.
Her campaign cast her plan as part of her “economic patriotism” agenda that envisions a broader government role in maintaining the value of the U.S. currency and placing more restrictions on spending federal money on products made outside the U.S.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.