How Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders wants to reshape American public policy through a 'political revolution'

Associated Press

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign event in San Antonio, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

• Sen. Bernie Sanders is officially the 2020 Democratic frontrunner following his popular vote victories in the Iowa caucuses, his New Hampshire primary win, and his blowout victory in Saturday's Nevada caucuses.
• Sanders has brought ideas including Medicare for All, legalizing marijuana, making public college free, and ending excessive US military intervention in foreign conflicts into the political mainstream.
• Here's a guide to Sanders' positions and policy proposals on key issues.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is officially the 2020 Democratic frontrunner following his popular vote victories in the Iowa caucuses, his New Hampshire primary win, and his blowout victory in Saturday's Nevada caucuses.

Sanders has seen electoral success gained a loyal following of millions of supporters around the country with a vision of Democratic socialism that centers around checking the power of millionaire and billionaire corporate executives and empowering the voices of middle and working-class Americans to count as much as those of the wealthy.

In the mid and late 2010s, Sanders has framed his movement in the language of a "political revolution," and has political positions including Medicare for All, increasing the minimum wage and expanding labor protections, legalizing marijuana, making public college free, and ending excessive US military intervention in foreign conflicts into the political mainstream.

As Sanders rapidly gains momentum and is now squarely in the lead for the nomination, both his Republican critics and some of his Democratic rivals have castigated his agenda as enabling socialist takeover of the United States and possibly "dividing" the country with his sweeping policy proposals to reign in the wealthy.

Importantly, however, many of Sanders' biggest and most ambitious policies would not pass the currently Republican-controlled Senate, and those involving major appropriations and government spending (like Medicare for All).

Due to the high barriers facing his legislative agenda, a Sanders presidency would likely have the most impact in the areas in which presidents have the most authority to shape policy, including immigration, foreign policy, and the make-up of the federal bureaucracy.

Here's a guide to Sanders' positions and policy proposals on key issues:

Healthcare

Sanders is leading the charge for universal healthcare in the form of a single-payer "Medicare-for-all" system, which would guarantee government-funded healthcare for every American. He sponsored a bill pushing for this in 2017, and has centered healthcare as one of the top issues driving his campaign message.

Under Sanders' plan, every American would be provided with health insurance through Medicare and private insurers would be eliminated, with "no networks, no premiums, no deductibles, no copays, no surprise bills."

"The goal of health care must be to provide quality care to all in a cost-effective way, not tens of billions in profits for the insurance companies and outrageous compensation packages for CEOs," Sanders said in a campaign speech in California in late March.

Sanders reintroduced the Medicare for All bill in April. "The American people are increasingly clear. They want a health care system which guarantees health care to all Americans as a right," Sanders said in a statement. "In other words, they want Medicare for All, and that's what we will deliver to them."

Sanders has defended his signature proposal at the September Democratic debate. "Medicare for All is comprehensive health care. Covers all basic needs, including home health care. It allows you to go to any doctor you want, which many private insurance company programs do not," he said.

In addition to establishing a single-payer healthcare system, Sanders' Medicare for All would also pursue efforts to curb the costs of prescription drugs, limiting the amount Americans pay for their medications to $200 per year.

Taxes and the Economy

Sanders has proposed additional taxes on the ultra-wealthy Americans and the financial sector, including a "tax on extreme wealth" applying to the top 0.1% of Americans with net worths in excess of $32 million, a 77% tax on the estates of billionaires, and a tax on financial transactions in addition to targeting offshore tax havens.

Sanders has railed against major companies like Amazon, Netflix, and General Motors paying "nothing" in federal income taxes.

Sanders on October 14 released a plan - the Corporate Accountability and Democracy Plan - to raise the corporate tax rate back up to 35% from 21%. The plan would also eliminate off-shore tax havens.

Additionally, the plan calls for workers to directly elect at least 45% of the board of directors at all publicly traded companies as well as privately-owned companies with at least $100 million in revenue.

It would also require all publicly traded companies to provide at least 2% of their stock to their workers every year until the company is at least 20% owned by employees. This would apply to corporations with at least $100 million in annual revenue and corporations with at least $100 million in the balance sheet total.

The Senator is also proposing greater restrictions and regulations on big banks and Wall Street institutions including restoring the 1920s Glass-Stegall Act

In addition to proposals to strengthen unions and increase union membership across America, Sanders supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Associated Press

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., cheer as they watch results of the Nevada Cacus during a campaign event in San Antonio, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Climate change

Sanders is a co-sponsor of a resolution known as the "Green New Deal," which is a plan to combat climate change by transitioning the US to 100% clean and renewable energy within the next decade.

The Vermont senator has been vocal on environmental issues for decades and has criticized the media for not focusing enough on covering climate change.

Sanders frequently rails against the fossil fuel industry and has vowed to stop allowing it to "destroy our planet for profit" if he wins the election.

Sanders unveiled a $16 trillion proposal to combat climate change in late August, which he also called the "Green New Deal, and offered more specifics than the congressional proposal.

The proposal, which is essentially a declaration of war on the fossil fuel industry, is over 13,000 words and calls for the US to eliminate fossil fuel use by 2050 and "immediately" end "all new and existing fossil fuel extraction on federal public lands."

Sanders has also raised some more controversial energy-related proposals to shut down existing nuclear power plants, and ban the hydraulic fracturing of natural gas, or fracking, nationwide.

Education

Notably, Sanders' policy platform includes massive government investments in public education in K-12 education, including raising the starting salary for public school teachers to $60,000 and bolstering teachers' unions, including their collective bargaining rights.

Sanders' education policy proposals also include guaranteeing universal childcare and universal pre-kindergarten, expanding access to tuition-free public college and vocational education, and canceling $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt.

Under Sanders' College for All Act, the federal government would cover 67% of the cost of public tuition, while the states would be responsible for the remaining 33% of the cost.

His presidential policy platform also calls for huge investments in historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), capping student loan interest rates at 1.8%, and expanding Pell Grants for low-income students.

Housing

To address the nationwide crisis of lack of affordable housing, Sanders wants to invest $2.5 trillion into creating 10 million new "permanently affordable" units in the United States, in addition to expanding federal section 8 housing vouchers.

Sanders is proposing bolstering tenant protections at the federal level, including a "just-cause" eviction standard and right to counsel, which does not currently exist in housing courts nationwide.

He is the only candidate proposing a controversial plan to set a national rent control standard, which some critics argue will do little to expand affordable housing while

Criminal justice:

Sanders has described America's criminal justice system as "racist," stating that "far too many of our black brothers and sisters end up dead at the hands of law enforcement."

Sanders, according to his policy platform, would aim to "cut the national prison population in half and end mass incarceration by abolishing the death penalty, three-strikes laws, and mandatory minimum sentences, as well as expanding the use of alternatives to detention."

He's called for an end to the war on drugs, and is in favor of legalizing marijuana at the federal level, expunging previous marijuana convictions, and changing the nature of American policing, including "ending the reliance on police forces to handle mental health emergencies."

The Senator also wants to end the federal government contracting private prison companies to run its correctional facilities and eliminate cash bail.

Sanders believes people with felony records should be allowed to vote and is also the only candidate who supports extending voting rights to people who are currently incarcerated.

ReutersDemocratic U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks an outdoor campaign rally in Austin

Guns

For almost three decades, Sanders has represented Vermont, a rural state with a strong hunting culture in both the House and Senate, and was more amenable to gun rights than many of his Democratic colleagues.

But in recent years, Sanders has taken a much more aggressive stance in favor of gun control and against the influence of the powerful pro-gun lobby represented in part by the National Rifle Association.

Sanders' 2020 presidential platform calls for banning the sale of assault weapons, establishing universal background checks, banning 3D printing guns, bump stocks, and high-capacity magazines, and introducing "red flag" laws which

Immigration

Sanders, who has referred to President Donald Trump's immigration policies as "heartless," wants to offer a pathway to citizenship to most undocumented immigrants and supports comprehensive immigration reform, including restoring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects many undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children from deportation.

The Senator has also called for decriminalizing first-time illegal entry into the United States down to a civil citation, in addition to a total moratorium on deportations, with some expectations for individuals with deportation orders who have been convicted of violent crimes.

Unlike other candidates, Sanders has called for restructuring and breaking up both Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, stating, "We must not be about tearing small children away from their families."

Social issues

Sanders is a strong supporter of both expanding LGBTQ+ rights and abortion access under federal law.

The Senator voted against Don't Ask Don't Tell in 1993 and supported civil unions in Vermont in 2000. He was one of 67 members in the House to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, and spoke out in favor of gay marriage as early as 2009, well ahead of most of the Democratic party.

Sanders opposes laws that prevent transgender people from using bathrooms of their choice, declaring that "transgender discrimination has no place in the world."

Sanders has also spoken out against Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the US military.

Sanders has voted against bills that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks and opposes the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal programs like Medicaid and Title X from directly funding abortions except in rare cases.

"If we believe that a woman has the constitutional right to control her own body, that right must apply to ALL women, including low-income women," Sanders said last June. "That is why I have consistently voted against the Hyde Amendment and, why as president, I would eliminate it."

Reuters

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders addresses supporters after being declared the winner of the Nevada Caucus as he holds a campaign rally in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.

Trade

Sanders opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump withdrew the US from in 2017, and most recently voted against the US-Mexico Canada trade agreement (USMCA) for many reasons, including its lack of provisions dedicated to combatting climate change.

Sanders has pushed for trade policy that "is fair to American workers, not just large multi-national corporations." He routinely speaks out against the exploitation of low-wage workers in foreign countries, and the impact this has on the job market in the US.

Sanders is against Trump's tariffs against Canada and the European Union, but has expressed support for imposing "stiff penalties on countries like China, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam to prevent them from illegally dumping steel and aluminum into the US and throughout the world."

Sanders has said Trump is right about the problem with trade with countries like China but has called for a more "comprehensive approach."

Electoral and campaign finance reform

Sanders is one of the most outspoken critics of corporate and special interest influence in politics, and has now run two presidential campaigns entirely fueled by small-dollar, grassroots donations without holding any private, high-dollar fundraisers.

He's pushed for a constitutional amendment that would "effectively prevent corporations from bankrolling election campaigns, and would give Congress and the states explicit authority to regulate campaign finances."

Sanders has referred to Citizens United v. FEC as "one of the worst decisions ever brought about by the Supreme Court of this country," and would prioritize nominating Supreme Court justices who would move to overturn the decision.

The Senator also supports making Election Day a federal holiday, passing automatic voter registration at the ederal level, and expanding public funding for elections.

Foreign policy

For decades, Sanders has been a prominent voice opposing war and US foreign intervention abroad, having voted against the Iraq War in 2003.

Sanders is strongly in favor of a foreign policy that involves working with the international community to solve global crises as opposed to the unilateral approach that Trump has favored.

Sanders also wants to drastically cut US defense spending, and was one of 10 senators who voted against a $716 billion defense budget for 2019.

"I think we have to get our priorities right, and our priorities should include not spending more than the 10 next nations on earth. As president, I would certainly look at a very different military budget," Sanders told Vox in May.

Sanders led the charge in the Senate for the US to end support Saudi Arabia in the conflict with Yemen, which has resulted in a major human rights crisis and numerous civilian casualties.

At the February 7 presidential debate in New Hampshire, Sanders took the extraordinary step of calling Saudi Arabia's powerful leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) a "murderer"

And while Sanders has been critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, he still supports the historic US-Israel partnership.

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250 pages.

37,500 words.

Not a single damn mention of "climate change."

Trump's NAFTA is a giveaway to the fossil fuel industry.

I voted NO because the future of our planet is more important than the short-term profits of Exxon Mobil and Chevron. pic.twitter.com/YgSZcigjjX

- Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 17, 2020

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