Harris confronts critics and finally releases her official policy agenda as election debate nears

Vice President Kamala Harris has finally released her policy agenda before Tuesday's election debate, hoping it will help to quell criticism that she has failed to spell out what she would actually do if she wins the presidency this November.

The Harris campaign published a 10-step plan on Monday entitled «A New Way Forward,” promising to protect abortion rights and bring down the cost of healthcare, housing, childcare and consumer goods.

The plan also vows to revive President Joe Biden's bipartisan immigration bill, which would increase funding for both border cops and asylum case officers, and to introduce a binding code of ethics for Supreme Court justices. The bill was stopped by Republicans in Congress.

Harris’s policy proposals come after a New York Times/Siena poll put Harris and her opponent Donald Trump neck and neck in the presidential race, with around 20 percent of respondents saying they needed to know more about her policies versus 6 percent for Trump.

The former California senator enjoyed a sustained honeymoon period after replacing Joe Biden on the presidential ticket, but is now under fire from both allies and enemies for being too vague about her policy platform and dodging set-piece interviews with the press.

Yet there are many outstanding questions about Harris's agenda that Monday's plan left unaddressed.

In the New York Times/Siena poll, 21 percent of respondents said that jobs and the economy was the most important issue facing the country, while 7 percent said the same about inflation and the cost of living.

This is where Harris has outlined the most detailed policy proposals. Her new plan promises to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit and restore and expand the Child Tax Credit.

It pledges