Biden for President/Friends of Bernie Sanders
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2020 

Biden-Sanders Unity Task Forces Announce Democratic Party Platform Recommendations 

Today, Biden for President and Friends of Bernie Sanders released the following statements on the Platform Recommendations submitted by the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Forces. 

“For the millions of Americans facing hardship due to President Trump’s failed coronavirus response, this election offers the chance to usher in a stronger, fairer economy that works for our working families,” said Vice President Joe Biden. “I commend the Task Forces for their service and helping build a bold, transformative platform for our party and for our country. And I am deeply grateful to Senator Sanders for working together to unite our party, and deliver real, lasting change for generations to come.”
 
“While Joe Biden and I, and our supporters, have strong disagreements about some of the most important issues facing our country, we also understand that we must come together in order to defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in modern American history,” said Senator Bernie Sanders. “I want to thank all the members of the six task forces who worked hard and in good faith to create these compromise agreements. Though the end result is not what I or my supporters would have written alone, the task forces have created a good policy blueprint that will move this country in a much-needed progressive direction and substantially improve the lives of working families throughout our country. I look forward to working with Vice President Biden to help him win this campaign and to move this country forward toward economic, racial, social, and environmental justice.”
 
The full joint announcement is available below.

Today, the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Forces submitted recommendations to the DNC Platform Committee and to Vice President Biden directly, on climate change, criminal justice reform, economy, education, health care, and immigration policies. This spring, Vice President Biden and Senator Sanders appointed a diverse group of respected leaders and experts to the Task Forces to build upon the work of the Democratic campaigns to-date and develop the most successful possible agenda for Democrats in 2020. The recommendations submitted today are a result of this work.
 
Biden-Sanders Unity Task Forces
Climate Change
Rep. Kathy Castor
Kerry Duggan
Catherine Flowers
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, Co-chair
Rep. Conor Lamb
Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy
Rep. Donald McEachin
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Co-chair
Varshini Prakash
 
Criminal Justice Reform
TN State Senator Raumesh Akbari
Chiraag Bains, Co-chair
SC State Rep. Justin Bamberg
Former Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta
Former Attorney General Eric Holder
Symone Sanders
Rep. Bobby Scott, Co-chair
County Supervisor Stacey Walker
 
Economy
Rep. Karen Bass, Co-chair
Dr. Jared Bernstein
Professor Darrick Hamilton
Dr. Ben Harris
Professor Stephanie Kelton
Sara Nelson, Co-chair
Lee Saunders
Sonal Shah
 
Education
Professor Alejandro Adler
Rep. Marcia Fudge, Co-chair
Lily Eskelsen García
Professor Heather Gautney, Co-chair
Maggie Thompson
Christie Vilsack
Randi Weingarten
Professor Hirokazu Yoshikawa
 
Health Care
Dr. Don Berwick
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed
Professor Sherry Glied
Mary Kay Henry
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Co-chair
Chris Jennings
Rep. Robin Kelly
Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Co-chair
 
Immigration
Cristóbal Alex
Rep. Veronica Escobar
Marisa Franco
Juan Gonzalez
Marielena Hincapié, Co-chair
NV Lieutenant Governor Kate Marshall
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Co-chair
Javier Valdés
 
Biden and Sanders also appointed Analilia Mejia of Friends of Bernie Sanders and Carmel Martin of Biden for President as representatives of the respective campaigns to coordinate and support the work of the Task Forces.
 
The full Platform Recommendations are available HERE.