Kamala Harris in Interviews during 2017-2019

On War & Peace: Ok with Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory

• Senator Harris has been vocal about is her unconditional support for Israel. She told an American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in 2017, "I will do everything in my power to ensure broad and bipartisan support for Israel's security and right to self-defense." When President Obama allowed the U.S. to join a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Palestine as a "flagrant violation" of international law, Harris, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Amy Klobuchar were among 30 Democratic (and 47 Republican) senators who cosponsored a bill to withhold U.S. dues to the UN over the resolution.
• Harris did join most of the other presidential candidates who chose not to speak at AIPAC's 2019 gathering.
• She also supports rejoining the Iran nuclear agreement.
• Harris has voted for six out of eight military spending bills, but she did cosponsor and vote for Sanders's Yemen War Powers bill.

On Civil Rights: Reparations for blacks should include HBCU and reforms

"We have got to recognize [that] people aren't starting out on the same base in terms of their ability to succeed," she said. "So we have got to recognize that and give people a lift up."

As she outlined her agenda--highlighting plans for historically black colleges and universities, tax proposals to address poverty and criminal justice reforms--Harris defended President Barack Obama when asked about African Americans who say the former president didn't do enough for the black population.

"None of us can do enough. And we all know that," Harris said. "If you are a parent raising a child, you know we can never do enough. As leaders, we can never do enough. It's important to acknowledge that. But let's also give people credit for what they have accomplished."

On Drugs: Legalize marijuana: it gives a lot of people joy

Harris also said she smoked a joint in college. "And I inhaled," she added, joking in reference to President Bill Clinton's comments on the campaign trail in 1992 that he smoked marijuana but "didn't inhale it."

When asked if she would smoke again if the federal government were to legalize the recreational use of the drug, Harris laughed and replied: "Listen, I think it gives a lot of people joy. And we need more joy."

Harris said legalization would have to come with some caveats, emphasizing a need for research on the effects of marijuana on the developing brain and a means for regulating use of the drug while driving.

On Gun Control: No reason we have assault weapons in a civil society

Harris became even more impassioned while discussing the inaction by congress following the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting that took the lives of 20 children between the ages 6 and 7. She said: "I think somebody should have required all those members of Congress to go in a room, in a locked room, no press, nobody else, and look at the autopsy photographs of those babies. And then you vote your conscience."

On Principles & Values: FactCheck: Constitutionally eligible to run for presidency

The constitutional requirements for the office of U.S. president have nothing to do with the naturalization status of one's parents, but do include requirement of 14 years' residency in the US. Though Harris spent her high school years in Canada, she has been resident in the US since 1982. She was born in Oakland California, in 1964, and is a natural-born citizen, fulfilling all the requirements to be constitutionally eligible to run for president.

On Abortion: Don't limit abortions to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy

On Civil Rights: Let transgender people access the bathroom of their choice

• Same-sex marriage should be legal. Transgender people should use the bathroom of their choice. States need not necessarily pay for sexual reassignment surgery.
• On gay rights, Harris refused to defend California's law banning same-sex marriage while she was attorney general.
• She believes same-sex marriage should be legal and filed a court brief supporting transgender people's position that they should have access to the bathroom of their choice.
• She does not support states necessarily paying for gender reassignment surgery of transgender inmates, and once filed a court motion seeking to block the procedure in California.

On Corporations: New fees on banks and financial institutions

• Tax Cuts: Reverse some measures in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Instead, create new direct tax breaks for middle and lower classes.
• Harris has proposed the LIFT the Middle Class Act, which would give a $3,000 refundable tax credit [to the middle class].
• She would pay for the multitrillion-dollar plan by eliminating some of the tax cuts put in place by the Republican-sponsored Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and by creating a new tax or fee on some banks and financial institutions.

On Crime: Progressive prosecutor: fix broken criminal justice system

Harris addressed her law enforcement background in her book. She argued it was a "false choice" to decide between supporting the police and advocating for greater scrutiny of law enforcement. She wrote, "When activists came marching & banging on the doors, I wanted to be on the other side to let them in."

Harris supported legislation that passed the Senate last year that overhauled the criminal justice system, particularly when it comes to sentencing rules.

On Education: Free tuition at four-year public colleges

• Education: Free tuition at four-year public colleges for most Americans. Create national prekindergarten program.
• Harris would enact the "College for All Act" proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
• That would create a government funding program that would pay for tuition and fees at public colleges and universities for students with incomes of $125,000 a year or less.
• This would be funded by a fee on Wall Street firms of 0.5 percent per stock trade.
• She supports expanding Head Start and Early Head Start, and would create a "national universal prekindergarten," though she has not yet offered specifics for that plan.

On Energy & Oil: Don't withdraw from the Paris climate accord

• California's attorney general, Harris launched an investigation into Exxon Mobil in 2016, after reports that the oil and gas giant lied for decades about the risks of climate change.
• Harris criticized President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
• Additionally, Harris opposed the Trump administration's proposal to reverse Obama-era fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks.

On Environment: 100% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters

On Health Care: End private health insurance with Medicare for All

• Health care: Move to universal, government-run health care, or "Medicare for All."
• Harris backs the "Medicare for All" bill sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
• That bill would establish government-run health care system that allows every American to have access to care and end private health insurance as it currently exists.
• The bill would pay for that system in part with a 6.2 percent charge on employers, a 2.2 percent fee on most families that would vary at some income levels, increased marginal tax rates for incomes $250,000 and higher, increased taxes on capital gains, and an increased estate tax for the wealthiest.
• Harris has also introduced bills to increase access to mental health care and address high maternal mortality rates for black women.

On Immigration: Re-examine ICE & start from scratch

• Regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Harris believes it's time to "re-examine" the agency and "probably think about starting from scratch."
• She has not joined other Democrats--including 2020 rivals Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand--in explicitly calling for ICE to be abolished.
• Harris was a vocal opponent last year of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, which led to thousands of migrant children being separated from their families at the southwest border.
• Harris co-sponsored the "REUNITE Act," legislation that aimed to reunite families separated at the border.
• Also, Harris introduced a bill to improve oversight at immigration detention centers, and a bill to strengthen protections for unaccompanied migrant children in U.S. custody.
• Harris opposes Trump's border wall proposals, and has called on the White House to end the shutdown and agree to reopen the government.

On War & Peace: Time for a political solution in Afghanistan

• Afghanistan: Wants a "political solution" to end the war, bring troops home.
• After a trip to Afghanistan last month, Harris said she supports a "political solution" to the war that would allow U.S. troops to return home.
• She has not taken a public position on Trump's planned U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Syria.

On Tax Reform: Payments to needy, not tax breaks for the rich

Harris is offering as much as $3,000 a year for a single person or $6,000 a year for a married couple, on top of existing tax and transfer programs, disbursed either as a lump-sum tax refund or as a monthly payment. Working families making less than $100,000 a year would qualify, including those making close to nothing. As many as 80 million Americans would benefit, Harris's office has estimated, with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculating that the proposal would lift 9 million people out of poverty, including nearly 3 million kids.

On Gun Control: We cannot tolerate society with our babies being slaughtered

Harris has sought to highlight her positions on gun control while carving out an identity as a hard-core critic of the National Rifle Association. This week, she was quick to highlight an attack by the NRA's chief at the Conservative Political Action Conference. "I am not going to be silenced by attacks from the NRA or anyone else," she wrote on Twitter, minutes after NRA chief Wayne LaPierre labeled Harris and other Democrats as "new European-style socialists bearing down upon us."

Last week, after the nation began another discussion on gun control following the shooting at a Florida high school, Harris immediately weighed in on MSNBC.

"We cannot tolerate a society and live in a country with any level of pride when our babies are being slaughtered," she said in a video that quickly went viral.

On Immigration: No border wall in any comprehensive bill

"While this bill would put Dreamers on a pathway toward citizenship, the appropriation of $25 billion for a border wall is a waste of taxpayer money," she said. "A wall will not secure our border and I remain concerned those billions of dollars may also be used to implement this Administration's anti-immigrant agenda--one that targets California and its residents."

Those close to Harris maintain that Harris has felt passionately for years about [immigration issues]. In particular, they say protecting dreamers has been her top priority since she was elected to the Senate.