Supporters of Hillary Clinton on the Democratic Party’s platform committee on Saturday rejected several proposals that would have undermined the party’s longstanding support for Israel.
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“The proposal brought forth today by Secretary Clinton, working with our campaign, is an important step forward in expanding healthcare in America – and expanding health insurance and healthcare access to tens of millions of Americans”, he said in a statement.
This past Wednesday, Clinton also announced a new college affordability plan that had tweaks from her former proposals.
Asked if he was now ready to endorse Clinton, Sanders said, “I think it’s fair to say that the Clinton campaign and I, our campaign, are coming closer and closer together”.
The vote came as delegates wrapped up two days of wrangling in Orlando, Florida, on the final draft of the 2016 platform, a non-binding and largely symbolic document which will be officially presented at the party’s convention in Philadelphia later this month.
“It’s a very, very significant step forward in providing universal primary health care for all Americans”, he said of Clinton’s plan. Instead, they simply said their amendment went far enough or claimed adding anti-TPP language would make the plank too narrow, since it wouldn’t mention future trade deals. Attempts to avoid embarassing Obama, who stumped with Clinton this week, kept the anti-trade deal language out of the platform although an amendment was adopted that lays out the party’s priorities for trade deals. During the primary campaign, Clinton questioned how he’d pay for his proposal and said she wants to defend and build on the progress made by the Affordable Care Act.
The Sanders and Clinton campaigns are still discussing policy areas where they can reach agreement, including ways to expand access to health care coverage.
It was the biggest point of contention between the two camps, and comes just days before a possible Clinton and Sanders joint event in New Hampshire, where the Vermont senator could endorse his primary rival.
He did, however, secure a major victory Friday in getting support for a $15 minimum wage added to the draft platform and will likely walk away with more concessions by the time the meeting concludes Saturday night.
When a protest in support of a Sanders-backed amendment in support of Palestinians living in Gaza broke out, Malloy calmly called for it to be read a second time, above the din.
That might reassure some of the progressive Sanders supporters skeptical of Clinton’s commitment to their values and goals ― and, in some cases, angry at her attacks on Sanders’ proposal to create a single, government-run insurance plan that would provide coverage to all Americans, supplanting private insurance altogether.
She’s also reaffirming her support for a public-option insurance plan and for expanding Medicaid by letting people 55 years and older opt in to the program.
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, money for these centers was increased, an effort led by Sanders.
Sanders supporter Benjamin Jealous, a former president of the NAACP argued that language opposing the TPP would help Democrats win the presidential election in November.
That’s one of the main issues Sanders said he was looking for Clinton to shift on in order to give an endorsement.
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Another amendment that was approved says the party will “protect and defend the Federal Reserve’s independence to carry out the dual mandate assigned to it by Congress – for both full employment and low inflation – against threats from new legislation”.
