Pelosi: Democrats will take on drug prices and gun background checks if they win a House majority
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi outlines the policies she hopes to pursue if Democrats take a House majority.
In an interview with Politico, she says she wants to address campaign finance reform, drug prices, gun background checks and immigration.
Democrats have a good chance to take a House majority, but Republicans will still control the White House and likely the Senate.
The midterm elections are still three weeks away, but House Democrats are preparing for the actions they will take if they become the majority.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi would likely start another stint as speaker if her party wins control of the chamber on Nov. 6. In an interview with Politico published Tuesday, the California Democrat outlined the policies she hopes to pursue first:
Campaign finance reform: Democrats have long criticized the influence of large donors in politics. They have particularly targeted "dark money" contributions, where donors are not disclosed.
Drug prices: The party has called for measures including requiring more transparency about drug price increases and allowing Medicare to negotiate prices directly with pharmaceutical companies. As a candidate, President Donald Trump pushed for that direct negotiating power, but he has since backed off.
Gun background checks: Democrats have called for tougher background checks for gun purchases, a proposal that many Republicans also support.
Protections for young undocumented immigrants: Democrats have pushed to codify protections for young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children and offer them a path to citizenship. While Trump has also pushed to shield those immigrants, he has called for strict border security measures in return — which Democrats find unacceptable.
It is unclear now how much of that agenda Democrats could accomplish. Even if the party flips the 23 GOP-held seats needed to take a House majority, it may only gain control of the chamber by a narrow margin, making it tough to overcome GOP opposition. In addition, Republicans will still control the White House and likely keep a Senate majority.
Still, Pelosi's priorities give voters a view into what a Democratic majority would look like as they decide who to support in their congressional districts. She notably mentioned proposals that largely have broad, bipartisan support among Americans.
Read Politico's story here.
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