Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (left), and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
Getty Images
Housing
Affordable housing is an important issue for many Americans, and both Walz and Vance addressed the issue.
In May 2023, Walz signed the Housing Act, which included $200 million in down payment assistance. The bill also included $200 million for housing infrastructure and $40 million for workforce housing.
In a July statement, TD Cowen analyst Jarrett Seeberg wrote, “We expect Walz to be an advocate for a demand-side approach to housing. These are the housing ideas we expect from a Harris administration.”
Housing demand support approaches aim to help individual households by improving the quality of housing or reducing monthly housing costs.
Meanwhile, Vance, who is also a supporter of affordable housing, has highlighted the issue in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention and along the campaign trail.
Before running for Senate, Vance argued that one of the keys to tackling poverty was addressing the problem of affordable housing, and he opposed institutional ownership of rental housing and Chinese buyers of American real estate, Seaberg wrote.
child tax credit
Absent action from Congress, the trillions in tax cuts Trump has passed are set to expire after 2025, including the child tax credit, which will drop from $2,000 to $1,000 per child.
Congress in 2021 approved a temporary expansion of the child tax credit, including upfront monthly payments, which reduced the child poverty rate to a historic low of 5.2% for 2021, according to a Columbia University analysis.
Building on federal policy, Minnesota passed a statewide refundable child tax credit in 2023, which Walz called a “significant achievement.”
Minnesota's new child tax credit is unusual in its narrow scope, but it is the most generous in the nation for low-income families.
Jared Walczak
Deputy Head of State Projects at the Tax Authority
“Minnesota’s new child tax credit is unusual in its narrow scope,” said Jared Walczak, vice president of government projects at the Tax Foundation. “But it is the most generous in the nation for low-income families.”
However, a permanent expansion of the federal child tax credit could be difficult, especially given the division in Congress and growing concerns about the federal budget deficit.
Walz's campaign did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Last week, Senate Republicans blocked an expansion of the federal child tax credit, with Sen. Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, calling the vote a “blatant attempt to score political points.”
Despite the procedural vote's failure, Crapo expressed openness to negotiating “a child tax credit solution that a majority of Republicans can support.”
Democrats decided to hold the vote in part in response to Vance, who has positioned himself as a pro-family candidate. Vance was not present for the Senate vote, but he has expressed support for the child tax credit.
Vance's campaign did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Student Loans
Vance has spoken out against student loan forgiveness policies.
In April 2022, Vance, a Yale Law School graduate, wrote on X: “Student debt forgiveness is a huge win for the wealthy, the college educated, and most of all, the corrupt college administrators of America. Republicans must fight this with every ounce of our energy and strength.”
The amount of education debt in the United States is about $1.6 trillion. About 43 million people—or one in six adults in the United States—hold student loans. Women and people of color are disproportionately affected by this debt.
Vance seems to agree with loan forgiveness in extreme cases. In May, he helped introduce legislation that would forgive parents’ student loans for a child who became permanently disabled.
It is hypocritical and wrong for Vance to portray debt relief as a benefit for those who are well off, said Jane Fox, president of Legal Aid Society Branch 2325.
“Student debt relief is a working-class issue,” Fox said. “Those in the one percent who went to elite institutions and then worked at private equity firms like Senator Vance have rarely needed debt relief.”
Vance's campaign did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Meanwhile, Walz, a former teacher, has supported programs to ease people's student debt, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
Kantrowitz said he signed off on a student loan forgiveness program for nurses in Minnesota, as well as a free tuition initiative for low-income students.
In 2018, Walz wrote on Facebook: “As my daughter prepares to head off to college next year, affordability and student loan debt are at the forefront of our minds. Every Minnesotan deserves the opportunity to get a great education without being held back by high costs and student loan debt.”
