Why Kamala Harris and the Democratic Platform Should Matter to Indian Americans in Loudoun County
By Shalini Rao
Like Kamala Harris, I am a first-generation Indian American, with my grandparents hailing from the same city as hers in southern India. Born in suburban Chicago, I grew up in the middle-class immigrant town of Glendale Heights, IL with close-knit families from Mexico, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, and more. We all had the same values and lifestyles – nightly home-cooked meals, extended visits from grandparents, and summer trips abroad to see relatives.
We also had the same challenges: expensive college tuition for families who surpassed the need-based financial aid limit but struggled to pay out-of-pocket, and exorbitant healthcare costs for newly immigrated, multi-generational households.
My parents moved to Loudoun County in 2019, a year after I moved to Virginia for my first job, to be closer to family and jointly take care of my ailing grandfather until his passing this year. My parents found solidarity with the many Indian-American families they met. These families faced the same challenges of rising healthcare costs, educating their children, and navigating the complex immigration system to find long-term jobs and migrate their families onto one continent. Even for higher-income families, healthcare and higher education are still too expensive, and Democratic policies get us closer to affordability. The Democratic platform overwhelmingly helps families like us – and this is why we should all be voting for Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and Suhas Subramanyam in November.
Democrats’ healthcare platform is perhaps the most relevant to our community, specifically with its focus on lowering prescription drug costs and tackling medical debt. Harris aims to erase $2 billion in medical debt and cap insulin at $35 per month. With high rates of heart disease, diabetes, and related conditions, these policies create a pathway to affordable, long-term treatment of conditions that disproportionately affect our community.
This sentiment permeates throughout the party – as a state official, Loudoun County’s own Suhas Subramanyam passed legislation in the Virginia General Assembly to bring down drug costs and expand price transparency for consumers. From my own visits to my primary care physician, I know firsthand how frustrating it is to get slapped with hidden medical bills for tests, especially for preventative screening.
On college tuition, Democrats have also focused on passing legislation to lower costs and expand higher education access. Part of the story of immigration is having the best choices for your children, but many universities, especially private and out-of-state options targeted by Indian-American students, are still too expensive for the average middle-class household. The Biden administration sought to cap student loan interest rates at 5% and canceled $10,000 in student debt for college graduates making under $125,000. Minimizing student loan burdens matters to Indian American families and students alike.
The Democratic platform clearly prioritizes middle-class Americans and immigrant families with policies that focus on affordability and inclusivity. It’s a party that represents you, with candidates that represent you. I hope you will join me in voting blue this November.