COLORADO FAMILIES ARE FINDING THAT NO MATTER HOW HARD THEY WORK, THEY STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET.
Michael passed the expanded Child Tax Credit, which kept nearly 4 million children out of poverty last year alone and gave working families a tax cut. Now, he’s fighting to make it permanent. Michael believes anybody who graduates with a high school diploma should be able to find a good job and earn a living wage. That’s why he’s working to expand access to skills training and apprenticeships, particularly in rural and underserved communities. He’s also fighting to make sure college is affordable for Coloradans who choose to attend. Michael successfully pushed to extend the pause on student loan repayments so borrowers have more time to financially recover from the pandemic.
COLORADANS NEED AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE, NOT JUST THOSE AT THE TOP.
Michael is fighting to build an economy that works for everyone, not just the few at the top. He’s working to lower costs from health care to housing to child care to make sure Coloradans can get and stay ahead. Michael’s work saving small businesses during the COVID pandemic earned him the Small Business Council of America’s 2022 Congressional Award. Michael helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which will rebuild roads and bridges while creating good-paying jobs, and expand access to high-speed internet so Coloradans can fully participate in the 21st century economy. He believes the wealthy and big corporations should pay their fair share in taxes so he’s fighting to reverse the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations and invest in working families. Michael is fighting to boost American competitiveness to bolster our national security and bring manufacturing of critical goods back to the United States.
ONGOING SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS AND HOUSING SHORTAGES MEAN PRICES CONTINUE TO INCREASE FOR COLORADANS.
As housing costs rise, Michael has worked with leaders across Colorado to create a plan that will increase housing supply and lower costs. Michael responded to rising gas prices by introducing legislation to hold Big Oil companies accountable for profiteering. To solve supply chain problems, Michael has worked to allow truckers to work more efficiently, hold shipping companies accountable, and he supported small and medium meat processors to protect our food supply chain.
DROUGHTS, WILDFIRES, AND AIR POLLUTION ARE THREATENING THE COLORADO WAY OF LIFE.
For years, Michael has fought for solutions that address climate change, cut pollution, and make sure all Coloradans have clean air and water. Michael is working to help Colorado communities recover from wildfires and prevent them from happening; plug orphan wells that release toxic methane and other pollutants into our air and groundwater; and upgrade our electrical grid and grow our renewable energy sector – all while creating good-paying jobs to execute these critical programs and ensuring that as we transition to a clean energy economy, no Colorado communities are left behind.
THE BROKEN CAMPAIGN FINANCE SYSTEM GIVES LARGE CORPORATIONS AND THEIR LOBBYISTS TOO MUCH POWER IN WASHINGTON.
Michael puts Colorado first and stands up to corporate special interests to reform our politics. He has been recognized as a leader on anti-corruption efforts in Congress by End Citizens United. Michael is the only Senator running for re-election who is not taking any money from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists. He’s currently working to ban members of Congress from trading stocks and ever becoming lobbyists. Michael knows Washington plays by different rules, and he wants to put an end to that.
HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE TOO HIGH AND COLORADANS NEED REALISTIC SOLUTIONS THAT EXPAND ACCESS TO GOOD QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE.
Michael worked with Republicans to lower health care costs by ending surprise emergency medical bills and cut red tape so Coloradans can quickly access lifesaving medicines for cancer, diabetes, and more. Now, Michael is fighting to cap out-of-pocket insulin prices at $35 per month and to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Since 2017, Michael has fought for a public option called Medicare X that would expand on the promise of the Affordable Care Act to achieve universal healthcare, and allow people to keep their private insurance if they want.
Michael believes that Washington, D.C. should follow Colorado’s lead and codify Roe v. Wade into law, so that women can make these most personal reproductive decisions with their doctors, and without government interference.
RURAL COMMUNITIES ARE AT RISK OF BEING LEFT BEHIND IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD.
Michael passed legislation to close the digital divide in rural communities and bring high-speed internet to tens of thousands of Coloradans who currently lack access. He passed legislation to repair roads and bridges and improve public transportation on the Western Slope. Michael is fighting to support farmers and ranchers facing an unprecedented drought and build resilient supply chains. As housing costs rise, Michael passed measures to improve and build affordable housing for our rural and mountain communities. Finally, Michael passed the Postal Reform Act which will save nearly $50 billion over the next 10 years while supporting more reliable delivery and service in Colorado’s mountain and rural communities.
Climate change is a global crisis that we must confront now.
The majority of Americans believe climate change is real and humans are contributing to it. And they are demanding action by this generation. Yet climate deniers keep winning political battles that result in our doing nothing.
We need bold action and enduring solutions. America’s Climate Change Plan will reduce emissions in line with the most aggressive targets set by the world’s scientists and achieve 100 percent clean, net-zero emissions as soon as possible, and no later than 2050. Our plan will drive economic growth for the 21st century and create millions of high-paying jobs.
Our plan intentionally engages a broad coalition of Americans to ensure that our approach to climate change not only is sufficiently ambitious, but will endure across American elections and administrations.
To combat this crisis as fast as possible, we must reignite America’s ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit in a shared mission. We must use every diplomatic and economic tool available to assert America’s leadership in this critical fight. We must do the hard work to build a diverse coalition here at home, and we can, once again, lead the world.
On Day 1, the Bennet Administration will launch an initiative to engage people from across the country to develop America’s Climate Change Plan within 100 days. We will work with Congress to implement the plan within nine months. Although it’s our strong preference that Congress take on this issue, if a corruption of inaction continues to prevent it, we will act through the authority the Clean Air Act and other statutes grant the President. And we will commit the resources necessary to the Departments of Justice and Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to defend that action in court.
In our education system today, equal is not equal. Not when children born into poor, near poor, and even middle-class families and neighborhoods have a small—and ever diminishing—chance of building better lives than their parents and grandparents did. Not when children of color are marooned in segregated neighborhoods conveniently out of sight of wealthy communities. Not when children are isolated in rural communities, cut off from economic opportunity. Not when children are born into families who struggle to provide the tutoring, after-school activities, and college prep resources that the wealthy so readily offer their children. Not when high school graduates are too often shackled to minimum wage rather than living wage jobs.
A half century of increasing inequality, stagnant incomes, and growing wealth disparities have harmed all of these children and families. We must replace the policies that have resulted in this inequality and lack of opportunity, including updating the minimum wage, labor laws, tax code, access to affordable health care, housing policies, antitrust laws, and regulations governing corporations and their managers. We must invest in good jobs and economic development.
As important, we must directly break the cycle in which our children are stuck, where many have little hope or real prospects for a brighter future.
The Bennet Administration will make a commitment that by 2028, every child born in this country, regardless of circumstance, will be at the center of a community that offers them a real chance to flourish personally and prosper financially. Is 2028 ambitious? Yes. Is it doable? Yes. Must we do it? Yes. It is a moral and economic imperative. Equal must really be equal.
As the former Superintendent of the Denver Public Schools—a district with 95,000 students and a billion dollar budget—and in his service in the Senate, Michael Bennet has seen and lived what works in Denver and around the country. He also has seen and lived what does not work.
The goals underpinning the Bennet Administration’s 2028 commitment are achievable, because there are a lot of policies that we know work. Home visiting programs for new parents work. Great teachers and great principals work. Quality preschools work. Engaged parents work. High expectations work. Child nutrition programs work. Longer school days and years work. Well-designed technical training works. High-quality registered apprenticeships work. Targeted support for low- and moderate-income students attending college works. Debt forgiveness tied to public service works.
But while we know these interventions work, as a country we’re not doing nearly enough of them. We have failed to come together as a nation to commit the time, effort, and resources needed to implement these proven approaches across every community.
The Bennet Administration will create 500 Regional Opportunity Compacts, which will connect the dots between what is taught in schools, what skills local employers need, and how we support students so they can enter the workforce prepared and participate in society as informed citizens. These locally-based Compacts will bring communities together around shared goals and a culture of collaboration designed to align resources, priorities, and interventions that have kids and families as a central focus. The Compacts will be rooted in local communities and adapted to their unique needs. The Bennet Administration will provide leadership, technical assistance, and financial support of $10 billion per year over five years to launch these Compacts as an investment in the future of our children, our workers, and our nation.
Regional Opportunity Compacts will be comprehensive community-based partnerships through which community leaders, school districts, non-profits, unions, business leaders, and local government leaders pledge to align themselves and work together to reach the goals underpinning the 2028 commitment. As part of these Compacts, community-based coalitions will agree to use common measures of progress set by the community, share data, and implement programs and policies designed to meet a series of goals that will ensure all kids are on a path toward opportunity.
As early as 2014, the Russian government began a sweeping effort to undermine our democracy. Through cyberattacks and disinformation, they sought not only to sway the 2016 election, but to stoke dysfunction, division, and doubt in democracy itself. According to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Russian hackers sought to access voting systems in all 50 states, and they successfully accessed a database containing records for 14 million voters. They also sowed division through a secretive disinformation campaign on social media, the propaganda from which Michael Bennet has compiled into a graphic book, “Dividing America: How Russia Hacked Social Media and Democracy.”
As the evidence of foreign interference mounts, the Trump administration continues to dither and divide, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to bring bipartisan election security bills to a vote.
Unlike the current administration, the Bennet administration will take immediate action to defend our democracy.
First, we will secure our elections. Our plan raises standards and increases resources to protect every precinct in America with new voting machines, mandatory audits, improved election procedures, and stronger cybersecurity.
Second, we will fight foreign interference by closing campaign finance and other loopholes that allow foreign actors to distort our media, elections, and campaigns.
Third, we will open a dialogue with the American people about ongoing threats to our democracy and steps our government is taking to protect it. Foreign adversaries want to undermine the public’s faith in democracy; we must restore it.
Finally, we will reclaim America’s historic leadership role by mobilizing our allies to push back against threats to democracy worldwide. We will work with our partners in Europe, NATO, and elsewhere to respond forcefully to those who attack democracy, strengthen election security, and support civil society.
Across the country, election security often hinges on machines, practices, and software that are outdated or insecure. Officials in 31 states want to update their voting equipment before the 2020 election, but two-thirds lack the resources to do so. Many voter registration systems still run on outdated software, like Windows 2000, that is extremely vulnerable to modern cyber threats. But across the board, resources for cybersecurity are woefully inadequate.
Despite progress, communication among local, state, and federal governments needs improvement, as does coordination among federal agencies responsible for protecting elections from foreign interference. All of this leaves us vulnerable.
One out of every eight Americans—about 40 million people, including nearly 10 million children—live in poverty in the United States. Our child poverty rate is among the highest of any advanced economy, and child poverty alone costs the United States between $800 billion and $1.1 trillion each year, an aggregation of the detrimental effects of poverty on human health, earning potential, incarceration, and so many other harms that last a lifetime.
The numbers are even more distressing for communities of color: Black and Latino children are more than twice as likely to grow up in poverty as white children. Those disparities are reinforced by segregated housing and school districts that concentrate poverty and deny many children a fair opportunity to rise into the middle class. This has resulted in deteriorating economic mobility and rising inequality, as well as stubborn racial gaps in wealth, income, health, education, incarceration, and a host of other areas.
There aren’t just disparities along racial lines, but also regional lines. Poverty rates in rural areas are 25 percent higher than in metropolitan areas.
Living in poverty is a daily and persistent crisis for families experiencing it. Behind the numbers are individual stories of struggle, stress, and pain that have no place in the wealthiest country the world has ever known. Yet the politicians in Washington almost never discuss—much less grapple with—the huge disparities faced by kids like the ones I served as superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, the majority of whom are kids of color and kids living in poverty. These students are doing their jobs, trying to finish their homework, study for exams, and learn the skills they need to succeed as workers and citizens. All they are asking is that we do our jobs and commit to providing every person in America with the opportunity to live a decent life.
Despite these daunting statistics, many politicians in Washington choose to focus their efforts and policies on affluent people with ready access to our political system, while mostly ignoring people living in poverty.
When I was a school superintendent, I often used to ask, “Why is Washington so mean to our kids?” When I arrived in the Senate, it became immediately clear that there was no place further from our classrooms.
People who are struggling to make ends meet financially do not have the time or financial means to travel to Washington, hire a lobbyist, or make large political donations. They face barriers to voting that lead to lower rates of turnout in elections, especially in states that are actively seeking to disenfranchise low-income voters and people of color. They need leaders who are putting the interests of the next generation first because it is the right thing to do, not because there is a political incentive or reward on the other end.
Here is the good news: It is within our power to move tens of millions of Americans out of poverty and into the middle class, if we simply make the effort.
We can reap the massive rewards of a society that truly provides opportunity to every one of its citizens. Anti-poverty policies work. Without Social Security and Medicare, senior poverty rates would be much, much higher. Social Security alone lifts 27 million Americans, mostly seniors, out of poverty. Tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit lift another 9 million Americans out of poverty. Other programs such as housing support, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) lift millions more above or closer to the poverty line.
It is a disgrace that we remain the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t provide universal coverage. As a nation, we spend almost double what other advanced economies spend on health care. Yet nearly 27 million Americans still lack health insurance. It is a moral imperative that we fix this.
The growing costs of coverage, care, and prescription drugs burden or bankrupt families and small businesses every day. Every American must have access to affordable, high-quality health care.
The Bennet Administration will achieve these goals with Medicare-X, a public option plan that builds on the Affordable Care Act instead of ripping out the progress we’ve made over the last 10 years.
Medicare-X will:
Unlike Medicare for All, Medicare-X does not ban employer- or union-provided insurance for the 180 million Americans who have it now, nor does it kick 22 million seniors off of Medicare Advantage.
We cannot afford to wait another day, another month, or another election to provide the high-quality, affordable care Americans need. We need a proposal that has broad support from the American people. That plan is Medicare-X.
A home is a platform for stability, good health, upward mobility, and opportunity in America. But for too many families, owning a home is out of reach, and the high cost of paying rent has pushed them to a breaking point. Our nation faces a shortage of over 7.2 million affordable homes available to low-income renters. Nearly 40 million middle- and lower-income households are “cost-burdened,” spending more than 30% of their income on rent or a mortgage, including 18 million households that pay more than half of their income on housing. The lack of available affordable homes, particularly within relatively close proximity to employment, puts homeownership out of reach for families struggling to pay for the high costs of health care, child care, and student debt.
Despite this shortage, federal housing support heavily subsidizes high-income households at the expense of working families and vulnerable populations. We need to overhaul our federal housing policy so that every American can afford a stable home in a thriving community.
In addition to building more affordable housing, we must consider the connection between transportation costs and housing. It’s not enough to simply build or refurbish millions of affordable units in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty or in places far away from high-quality schools and good-paying jobs. It is imperative that we lower the full cost of living in good homes in thriving communities to ensure that people are able to afford a decent life.
To make progress on the issues we care about, we have to fix our broken politics.
Ninety percent of Americans support universal background checks for gun purchases. Eighty percent want a tough but fair pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Seventy percent are worried about climate change. The list goes on. But because of our broken politics, Washington is doing nothing.
To fix our politics, we must overcome the forces trying to separate the American people from our government: special interests working to replace the public’s agenda with their own; politicians insulating themselves from accountability through gerrymandering and voter suppression; and foreign actors infiltrating our democracy.
The Bennet Administration will make fighting this corruption and strengthening our democracy a top priority. Our plan aims to drive the money and special interests out of our politics, while bringing the American people back in. It builds on the historic H.R. 1 package that passed the House of Representatives earlier this year.
We have an incredible opportunity to usher in a new era of progress. Like generations of Americans before us, we must fix our politics and build confidence in our noble exercise in self-government.
The American people want their hard work to be rewarded with a decent, middle-class life.
Yet, for decades, incomes for most Americans have stagnated, while the costs of living have continued to rise. That leaves most people unable to afford some combination of health care, housing, child care, and higher education. In other words, they can’t afford a middle-class life.
Donald Trump talks a lot about helping workers, but his tax cuts overwhelmingly favored the wealthiest Americans. His reckless trade war is actively doing damage to our workers, farmers, and ranchers. And his relentless pursuit to take health care away from tens of millions of Americans is the exact opposite of what workers and their families need.
We don’t hear enough on the campaign trail about how we can support the nearly 70% of Americans without a four-year college degree who are already in the workforce. We need a plan that puts workers first and ensures their hard work is rewarded.
This plan will make a historic $500 billion investment in American workers over the next ten years, including in high-quality training like registered apprenticeships. We’ll coordinate these investments across regional economies to connect workers’ skills with local demand. And we’ll support workers seeking to gain the skills and job opportunities they need to succeed in the economy.
We will drive economic security for middle-class Americans and people working to get into the middle class – through expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, enacting paid family and medical leave, and raising the minimum wage. And we will empower workers by cracking down on abuses by big corporations and supporting collective bargaining.
Finally, we will do everything we can to prevent recessions – which hurt people living paycheck to paycheck the most – and to respond aggressively to get the economy going again when they do occur.
After his appointment to the Senate in 2009, the first committee Michael Bennet requested to serve on was the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Over the last decade, Bennet has led efforts to create certainty for farmers, open up new export markets, boost rural economies, write and pass two Farm Bills, and most recently push back on the Trump Administration’s reckless trade policies.
The following principles, facts, and policies will guide the Bennet Administration’s approach to agriculture and trade to secure a stronger future for farmers, businesses, workers, and consumers and restore America’s economic leadership around the world.