Biden in June 2019 proposed a plan that would spend $1.7 trillion to set the United States on track to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. His proposal embraces elements of the ambitious Green New Deal, the broad plan to address renewable-energy infrastructure and climate change proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and seeks to go “well beyond” Obama’s climate goals. As part of the proposal, Biden is calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and a ban on new oil and gas permits on public lands. He would also reenter the Paris climate accord. The plan leaves it to Congress to decide what enforcement mechanism would be used to require corporations in the United States to meet the emissions goals Biden’s plan lays out – and penalize them if they fall short. More on Biden’s climate crisis policy

Boosting the middle class is one of the main pillars of Biden’s campaign. He often says the country needs to build an economy that “rewards work, not just wealth.” Biden wants to repeal the tax cuts enacted by the Trump administration and is pushing for a $15 minimum hourly wage, eliminating noncompete agreements for workers and expanding access to affordable education, including free community college. In an interview with CNN in July 2019, Biden said he would raise the top individual income tax rate to 39.5% and raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. More on Biden’s economic policy

Biden has proposed an education plan that would increase funding for schools in low-income areas, help teachers pay off student loans and double the number of health professionals working in schools. A core element involves tripling federal Title I funding for schools that serve low-income areas, closing what his campaign called a $23 billion funding gap between majority white and nonwhite school districts. In October 2019, Biden unveiled a plan that would cut student loan debt obligations, waiving $10,000 per year – for up to five years – for those in public service work, like teachers or members of the military. He would also guarantee that those earning less than $25,000 owe nothing on their undergraduate federal student loans, while everyone else’s payments would be capped at 5% of their discretionary income above $25,000 – halving the current 10% cap. His plans heavily emphasize executive action. Biden said at an American Federation of Teachers forum in Houston in May 2019 that “the bulk of” his education proposals can become law even if Republicans maintain control of the Senate after the 2020 elections. More on Biden’s education policy

Biden said in August 2019 that he will push to ban so-called assault weapons if elected. In a New York Times op-ed, Biden – who helped lead the effort to ban assault weapons in the 1990s – wrote that the United States has a “huge problem with guns,” and that assault weapons, which he defined as “military-style firearms designed to fire rapidly,” are a threat to US national security. He also told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that he would push for a federal gun buyback program in an attempt to take more weapons off the streets. He supports universal background checks, and said assault weapons “should be illegal. Period.” In the first Democratic presidential debate, Biden called for “smart guns” – requiring manufacturers to include biometric measures that would block firearms from being used by those whose fingerprints aren’t registered for that specific gun. He has also focused further on gun manufacturers. “Our enemy is the gun manufacturers, not the NRA. The gun manufacturers,” he said at the debate.

Biden in July 2019 unveiled a health care plan that would greatly expand Obamacare’s subsidies to make the private insurance policies available on the exchanges more affordable. The plan would also create a new “public option” similar to Medicare that people could buy into. “We’re going to add to it a public option. And the public option says whether you are having employer-based insurance or private insurance, or you’re in the exchange, you can join up for a Medicaid-Medicare-like provision in the law and not dump 300 million people on Medicare all of a sudden,” he said in July 2019. Biden added that those covered by employer-based health insurance plans could also choose the public plan if they prefer it. “You can sign up and get this other plan,” he said. “But if you like (your private insurance), you’re able to keep it.”

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Biden supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He has also called on Congress to immediately grant citizenship to some undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children. At the first Democratic presidential debate in June, Biden said that undocumented immigrants with no criminal records “should not be the focus of deportation.” In an interview with CNN in July 2019, Biden said he opposes decriminalizing crossing the border without documentation, something other candidates in the field have supported. “I think people should have to get in line, but if people are coming because they’re actually seeking asylum, they should have a chance to make their case,” Biden said.

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