Biden-Sanders Unity Task Forces

The Biden-Sanders Unity Task Forces were policy development task forces created in the wake of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries that saw Joe Biden elected as the presumptive Democratic nominee, with Bernie Sanders finishing second. Sanders eventually dropped out of the race[1] and endorsed Biden for president,[2] and the two formed a series of task forces. These task forces aim to bridge the divide between the moderate wing of the Democratic party, represented by Biden, and the progressive wing of the party, represented by Sanders.[2]

Six task forces were formed, each with members representing each candidate, covering climate change, criminal justice reform, the economy, education, health care, and immigration.[3] The final report was released on July 8th, 2020, and is expected to form the basis of the 2020 Democratic presidential platform.[4][5] The six groups were coordinated by Analilia Mejia, political director to the Sanders primary campaign, and Carmel Martin, an advisor of Biden's.[5][6]

Committee membership

(Italics denotes the Chair of a committee)

Unity Task Force on Climate Change John Kerry Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Kathy Castor Kerry Duggan Catherine Flowers Conor Lamb Gina McCarthy Donald McEachin Varshini Prakash

Unity Task Force on Criminal Justice Reform Chiraag Bains Bobby Scott Raumesh Akbari Justin Bamberg Vanita Gupta Eric Holder Symone Sanders Stacey Walker

Unity Task Force on the Economy Karen Bass Sara Nelson Jared Bernstein Darrick Hamilton Ben Harris Stephanie Kelton Lee Saunders Sonal Shah

Unity Task Force on Education Marcia Fudge Heather Gautney Alejandro Adler Lily Eskelsen Garcia Maggie Thompson Christie Vilsack Randi Weingarten Hirokazu Yoshikawa

Unity Task Force on Health Care Pramila Jayapal Vivek Murthy Donald Berwick Abdul El-Sayed Sherry Glied Mary Kay Henry Chris Jennings Robin Kelly

Unity Task Force on Immigration Lucille Roybal-Allard Marielena Hincapié Cristóbal Alex Veronica Escobar Marisa Franco Juan Gonzalez Kate Marshall Javier Valdés

References

1. Scott, Dylan (April 8, 2020). "Bernie Sanders ends his second bid for the presidency". Vox. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
2. Collins, Sean (April 13, 2020). "Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden: "We need you in the White House"". Vox. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
3. Barbara Sprunt (May 13, 2020). "Biden And Sanders Announce Task Forces To Find Party Unity Over Policy". NPR. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
4. Daniel Uria (July 8, 2020). "Biden, Sanders task forces unveil policy recommendations for general election". UPI. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
5. Beatrice Peterson; Averi Harper; John Verhovek; Molly Nagle (July 10, 2020). "Biden-Bernie Sanders Unity Task Forces release DNC platform recommendations". ABC News. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
6. Jessica Corbett (June 24, 2020). "DNC Ignores Progressive Climate Activists". EcoWatch. Retrieved July 23, 2020.