Tom will work to put power back in the hands of the American people by expanding access to the ballot box, ensuring fair districts, getting corporate money out of politics, and instituting term limits and a national referendum.
Tom’s Justice-Centered Climate Plan moves the US from an extraction economy to a regenerative one, focusing on local community solutions. We will re-establish our global leadership on sustainability.
Tom believes in harnessing innovation and promoting competition, breaking the corporate stranglehold on our government, and investing in the American people. Tom will put people in the driver’s seat again.
Where we lay our head at night determines so much about our life: whether we have access to clean air and water, healthy food, economic security, and a strong education. But corporate interests and government corruption have turned America’s real estate industry into a $1.9 trillion business that favors the wealthy and preys on the American people.
Tom’s administration will ensure that everyone in America has access to safe and affordable housing. His plan will spur the construction of new affordable development, focusing on healthy, climate-smart communities centered around clean transportation systems. To help all families build a stable future, Tom will broaden pathways to homeownership and offer tax breaks for low-income and middle-class renters. With environmental justice at the center, Tom will correct for historically discriminatory policies that have prevented communities of color from home ownership by building green infrastructure in redlined neighborhoods and introducing laws that protect vulnerable individuals from the destabilizing impacts of gentrification.
Tom has a track record of fighting for the right to learn, the right to clean air and water, the right to health care, the right to earn a living wage, and the right to an equal vote for all and making the American Dream a reality for all, including Black Americans.
Tom supports building a fair, people-powered economy that harnesses innovation and competition. He will ensure fair markets across all sectors and industries by aggressively enforcing existing antitrust regulations — and by enacting new antitrust regulations that hold big corporations accountable and break the corporate stranglehold on our government.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are one of the fastest-growing and most culturally diverse populations in the country. Although as a whole the AAPI community has the highest levels of education and income, this population contains significant variation. Given the diversity of the AAPI community — and the diversity of our country — Tom understands that the best policies are those that bolster all of us, together. A Steyer administration will strive for a more equitable America — and he will continue to engage with and learn from the AAPI community. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, like all Americans, deserve good wages, affordable healthcare, quality and free education, and a secure retirement. Tom’s economic agenda, education plan, justice-centered climate plan, and affordable housing plan will work in concert to truly expand the middle class. Unfortunately, the current administration has weaponized our Census program as a way to target vulnerable communities — Tom understands that a good first step to addressing the needs of the AAPI community is to support the Census Bureau in ensuring that data is disaggregated in its collection, analysis, and distribution.
Our government must be of, by, and for the people. That means all of us — not just some. We must actively call out racism, white nationalism, LGBTQ and gender bias, as well as work to address the disparities still defining too much of American life. Tom’s administration will vigorously defend the civil rights of all Americans, work across agencies to reform policies that reinforce inequality, and ensure justice in our housing, education, access to capital, environmental, agriculture, health, and human services programs, and election processes. Tom also strongly supports legislation to establish a commission to re-examine the issue of reparations.
America’s criminal justice system perpetuates a system of mass incarceration and punishment, not rehabilitation and restorative justice. This system was built on — and still suffers from — rampant racism. We must reform our criminal justice system to reflect the rule of law for all, not just those with the power to defend themselves. Tom will work to end cash bail, reduce the prison population, stop the prison pipeline and revolving door, eliminate private prisons, restructure parole and probation, promote better-policing methods and training to reduce police brutality, exercise his clemency powers where appropriate, and increase resources for public defenders and community intervention programs. Spending time in the criminal justice system can haunt someone’s life long after they’ve served their time — Tom will also fight for the rights of those re-entering society by supporting rehabilitation and workforce readiness programs.
If we are going to make life better for all Americans, we must include the most vulnerable among us. People with disabilities and those who care for them need someone who will fight for them in the White House. As president, Tom will do just that.
Without guaranteed access to quality education, there is no such thing as equal opportunity. Every American should have the right to a free, quality, public education from universal pre-kindergarten through higher education, including workforce and technical training. Looking to the leadership of teachers, parents, and school officials, Tom’s administration will work to reinvigorate our public schools by increasing resources to close the education achievement gap, improving school facilities, increasing teacher pay and professional development, and ensuring equal access to opportunities.
Donald Trump has tarnished our global standing by cozying up to our enemies and alienating our allies. With tweets and tantrums, he has broken promises to our allies and escalated a security crisis. Tom will rebuild our global alliances into a coalition that will work together to solve the serious, urgent challenges that we all face, starting with climate change. Tom will reinvigorate the State Department and respect the skill and expertise of our career diplomats and intelligence community. He will also negotiate trade agreements with everyone at the table, including labor and environmental groups. Above all, Tom will always protect America’s national security and honor the role our servicemen and women play in keeping America safe.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were mostly created after the Civil War to serve the needs of black students who didn’t have access or opportunity to attend the nation’s universities. They have served as the backbone of the black middle class for generations of graduating doctors, lawyers, entertainers, engineers, and other black professionals. HBCUs make America better, smarter, and more successful, and we must do more to protect their ability to educate for generations to come.
Without sustained federal investments, we risk losing these institutions that shape so many bright futures. As president, Tom will invest $125 billion to HBCUs over the next 10 years for infrastructure and technology upgrades, student and faculty support, building endowment capacity, and HBCU Centers of Innovation, among other initiatives.
He will also develop and implement a bold HBCU 2030 plan. In his first 180 days, Tom will require the White House Initiative on HBCUs to develop a set of recommendations to create a more comprehensive and independent HBCU governance structure. He will also create new federal and state funding mechanisms and pathways for resource allocation. Fostering new partnerships with philanthropies, private organizations and other higher learning institutions will help generate additional endowment funding, research opportunities, and student and faculty support services.
Collectively, these measures will place HBCUs on much more secure footing and allow them to continue to serve communities of color and low-income students for generations to come.
The American people deserve a health care system where everyone has access to quality, affordable, and secure health care. Tom supports a universal health care system, including a strong public option that aggressively competes with the private insurance marketplace, drives down costs, and expands coverage. As president, Tom will work to reduce prescription drug costs, increase system accountability, eliminate surprise billing, and put patients and doctors — not the drug manufacturers or insurers — in charge of their health care.
America is a nation of immigrants, and we must never trade border security for compassion. Tom will work toward comprehensive immigration reform, including re-establishing America as a safe haven for those fleeing persecution and oppression. He will take executive action to reinstate the DACA and TPS programs, reinvigorate our visa system to attract the best and brightest to our schools and companies, invest in smart border security, provide more aid to Central America, and create a path to citizenship for millions of people that contribute to our economy, but are currently living in the shadows.
The truth is, our economy is broken — millions of people are working multiple jobs and still struggle to afford health care. And while our GDP is at record highs, millions of American workers who have powered its growth are on the brink of poverty. Despite this, Trump is campaigning on his economic strength. In recent years, the Supreme Court’s Janus decision has stripped workers’ bargaining rights and the Trump Administration has represented a three-year sustained attack on the working class. In order to return economic prosperity to the American people, and to beat Trump in November, Democrats need a nominee who can expose him as a fraud and a failure.
Despite the fact that the vast majority of Latinos in American are U.S. citizens, the anti-immigrant hysteria whipped up by President Donald Trump has led to increased xenophobia and hate toward Latinos in America. Images of children in cages at border detention facilities and a dogged determination to build a southern border wall make it clear that Latinos are under attack by the Trump Administration. This will end immediately under a Steyer Administration.
We remain in the midst of a long fight for equality. To this day, far too many are still subjected to discrimination because of who they are or who they love despite grassroots LGBTQ activists’ fight for recognition as equal citizens under the law. These efforts have led to remarkable strides toward equality. However, the Trump administration has moved decisively to rob the LGBTQ community of civil liberties, treating them as second-class citizens. It is time for a president who will embrace and represent the vibrancy and diversity of the whole LGBTQ community — including LGBTQ youth, queer people of color, transgender folks, and intersex individuals — and defend equal justice under the law for every American. Hand-in-hand with those who have been fighting for equality for decades, we must work hard to ensure that LGBTQ individuals have equal rights and cannot be discriminated against in the workplace, at the doctor’s office, in school, in search of support services and public accommodations, in tax policy, in the criminal justice system, and in building loving families.
For the last several years, Tom has traveled around the country listening to young students talk about their vision for the future of this nation. Many are ready to roll up their sleeves and join millions of others in tackling the challenges we face both at home and abroad. Tom’s New National Service Plan will channel this energetic spirit into a historic $50 billion expansion of our public service programs to address pressing challenges in communities across our country and abroad. He will pass an updated Serve America Act in his first 100 days as president, increase public service program living allowances and educational benefits, and increase public service participation to one million positions in five years.
As Commander in Chief, Tom understands that his first job is to keep America safe. He will embrace that challenge by ensuring that those who serve our country continue to be the best-trained and best-equipped fighting force in the world. That means being ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century, including a rapidly changing climate. By rebuilding strong partnerships and coalitions like NATO, Tom will bring a steady hand and cool temper back to the White House. He respects the full responsibility of America’s global leadership, the gravity of holding the nuclear codes, and the solemn honor of commanding America’s armed forces.
Native communities have suffered disparities in healthcare, economic and educational opportunities, crime and violence, environmental health, and countless other issues for generations. Because of discriminatory policies and government-sanctioned exploitation, many Native people are trapped in a cycle of underemployment, lower life expectancy, and intergenerational poverty. Our government must honor and uphold our promise to support Tribal sovereignty and work collaboratively with Tribal governments to ensure the well-being, prosperity, and safety of all Native Americans.
A Steyer administration will celebrate the rich history of Indigenous communities while acknowledging and atoning for past and continued atrocities against Native peoples. Tom will protect the well-being of the Indigenous people in our country and work to eliminate inequality and discriminatory practices impacting Native American communities. As president, Tom will fight for climate and environmental justice and correct for disparities in wages, criminal justice, healthcare, infrastructure, and housing, among other things.
The US is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not extend leave to its citizens for the birth of a child, long-term care needs or bereavement. Tom knows women’s equality is about more than fair wages — it’s about having a voice and a seat at the table. The Steyer Administration will fight for full reproductive justice, workplace policies including pay equity and paid family leave, and equal educational opportunities.
America is powered by rural communities, yet they are too often left behind. The corrupting influence of corporate America and the politicians who profit from that system have left rural communities to grapple with crumbling infrastructure, failing schools, a lack of access to adequate health care, and dwindling economic opportunities. This has to change. It’s time to connect rural communities to the prosperity they deserve.
Tom is the only candidate to take the bold step of committing to extend a formal apology for slavery. But he won’t stop there. Apologies won’t address systemic discrimination, poverty, and homelessness. Centuries of legalized murder, rape, torture, discrimination, and property theft has never been accounted for and reconciled.
Tom is also the only candidate that will demand reparations for the descendants of slaves. On day one Tom would establish a commission on race led by African Americans aimed at determining the best solutions. In addition to addressing past wrongs, the commission would also seek to provide African Americans access to the vast opportunity and wealth they and their ancestors helped create in this country. The process will determine how to completely revamp the U.S. federal government to adopt a reparations lens within every department and agency to achieve true equality for African Americans. This means a complete rethinking of institutions like HUD, DOJ, SBA, and others, to develop the means of compensation across the spectrum to achieve true systemic change.
In order to start the process of healing, Americans need to understand that we must address the past, but more must be done through policy both for the present and the future. Policy stems from people’s understanding of the world and there has been a false story about this country for centuries.
This country has built a racist system of profits made on the backs of enslaved black bodies. We need to retell the story of America in an honest fashion, specifically with regard to race, and African Americans, and enslavement. We have to tell the story of the contributions of the African American community in building America, but also the story about its moral leadership in this country for centuries. Only then we can create policies to uplift and elevate the African American community.
The exploding level of student loan debt has become a national crisis that fuels inequality, threatens future economic growth and erodes an entire generation’s financial security. Every year close to a million Americans default on their student loans, which can push those already struggling into further financial distress. The student loan debt crisis is also exacerbating income and racial inequality. Student debt disproportionately impacts people of color, first-generation students, and low-income communities. Nearly 85% of African American graduates in 2016 had to borrow to finance their undergraduate degree — a significantly higher proportion than other groups.
We are facing a student debt crisis in part because the government has not invested sufficiently in higher education to keep it affordable — and because corporate interests have prevented adequate regulations on the private lending space and predatory for-profit colleges such as Trump University. Tom will never sell out our students to boost corporate profits. He is committed to breaking the corporate stranglehold on our government so that it serves the interests of the American people and their dreams of a better life through education. He recognizes that student loan debt not only takes a significant toll on the lives of individuals, but it also threatens our country’s economic growth and well-being.
Right now, the richest Americans and corporations get to live by a different set of rules than everyone else. That’s fundamentally wrong — we need a tax system that is fair and promotes people over profits. Tom believes that expanding the earned income tax credit, rolling back the Trump administration’s tax cuts, and instituting a wealth tax will begin to solve the massive economic inequality in this country and restore power back to the people.
Our nation’s warriors deserve the best — both on the field and when they return home. They deserve our respect, our gratitude, and the solemn pledge from their Commander in Chief that America will never waiver in its commitment to them.
Gun violence is a public health epidemic that claims far too many lives each year. Tom stands with students, parents, educators, law enforcement, victims of gun violence, and community members, and is ready to implement the urgent common-sense gun safety reforms we desperately need. His plan — titled “We Can End Gun Violence” — will establish universal background checks, ban large-capacity magazines and assault weapons, enact red flag laws, close loopholes, create a new Office of Gun Safety and licensing requirements, and provide resources to communities to reduce gun violence.
"We need to restore government of, by and for the people, and who better to do that than an outsider like me?"
Democratic candidate @TomSteyer responds to the latest Iowa polling that has him leading the likes of Beto O'Rourke and Sen. Cory Booker.https://t.co/bs2BruYi7G pic.twitter.com/39R3ItHSIY
— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) August 9, 2019
As we celebrate a century of a women’s right to vote, there is still much to do to realize full equality. It’s about more than fair wages; it’s about having a voice and a seat at the table. Tom’s administration will fight for full reproductive justice, workplace policies including pay equity and paid family leave, and equal educational opportunities. When we lift up women, we lift up families and entire communities.
Corporate influence in Congress has silenced labor groups, and halted progress on wages, retirement security, health care, and other issues affecting families across the country. It’s time to push power back to the people who actually do the work. Tom’s first and best partner in organizing has always been organized labor. As president, he will keep fighting for a minimum wage of at least $15 an hour, strengthen the right to organize, institute paid family leave, and make childcare more affordable and available. Tom will invest in programs that work for working people: increasing the earned income tax credit, enforcing strong workplace protections, and fighting for a living wage.