DNC Approves 2024 Democrat Party Platform

“We have a product to be proud of, we have a president to be proud of, we have an administration to be proud of, and let’s get out there and finish the work,” Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D) said after the vote.

The platform positions include growing the economy, lowering family costs, tackling climate change, securing energy independence, closing the “racial wealth gap,” investing in small businesses, restoring Roe v. Wade, gun control, securing the border, and “strengthening American leadership worldwide.”

“The breadth and depth of this platform is rooted in our collective experience and reflects a bold agenda that affirms Democrats’ commitment to protecting fundamental freedoms,” he said.

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Democrats say their plan is to rebuild the economy “from the middle out and bottom-up, not the top down.”

The summary mentioned “breaking ground” on more than 57,000 projects across 4,5000 communities throughout the country while pushing for $877 billion in private funding from companies to build new factories. 

“We’ll keep fighting to pass the PRO Act, to give everyone the right to organize for better pay, benefits, and working conditions, and we’ll finally raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour,” the committee wrote.

The plan also involves “expanding access to capital” for Americans to start and grow small businesses.

Democrats also hope to make the tax code “fairer for the middle class while making the wealthy and big corporations finally pay their fair share.”

Americans earning less than $400,000 a year will see no tax increases, “period,” they added, suggesting that the plan would cut the federal deficit by $3 trillion in the next 10 years.

“Lower costs is Democrats’ No. 1 economic priority,” the committee wrote, while noting President Biden’s efforts to cap insulin at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare.

The summary also mentions the president’s efforts to forgive student loans for millions of borrowers.

Climate and Energy

Democrats hope to continue President Biden’s climate agenda, which they describe as the “most aggressive … in history.”

“Democrats will scale up solar, wind, and geothermal projects made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act and invest in clean energy R&D to build America’s legacy as a nation of new frontiers and possibilities,” the committee wrote.

Democrats also hope to scale back “tens of billions of dollars” in oil and gas subsidies.

President Biden “is positioning America to lead the future—energy independent, resilient, innovative, and strong.”

Border Security

The 2024 party platform calls for President Biden to “secure our border, fix our immigration system, and provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and others” as a continuation of work the DNC says he has done since “his first day in office.”

The plan emphasizes the president’s efforts to find across-the-aisle solutions to the border crisis, including the bipartisan border bill that twice failed in Congress earlier this year.

Democrats also touted the president’s recent executive order on limiting border crossings, which they stated cut illegal crossings “by over 50 percent.”

“In President Biden’s second term, he will push Congress to pass legislation that is consistent with our values as a nation,” the committee wrote. 

Democrats say that legislation must secure the border, reform the asylum system, expand legal immigration, and “keep families together by supporting long-term undocumented individuals, including Dreamers.” 

They suggest “lasting, comprehensive reforms” for border security “require congressional action.”

Other Platform Initiatives 

The 2024 Democratic Party platform also involves gun control, including “universal background checks, safe storage requirements, and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.” 

Democrats also want to “strengthen democracy” and advance a “unity agenda” to tackle challenges common to all Americans, including fighting the opioid epidemic, addressing the mental health crisis, “holding Big Tech accountable,” helping veterans and combatting the cancer crisis.

The party also hopes to restore abortion access at the federal level after the 2022 Dobbs decision reversed Roe v. Wade, sending the issue back to the states.

The platform will be displayed during the Democratic National Convention next month, which starts on Aug. 19.

Some of those action points include sealing the border, ending inflation, and making the United States the “dominant energy producer in the world.”

In addition, tax cuts for workers and no taxes on tips, cracking down on drug cartels and gang violence, rebuilding major cities, modernizing the military, keeping the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency, protecting Social Security and Medicare, securing elections, and keeping college campuses safe.

Nathan Worcester and Lawrence Wilson contributed to this report.