Biden adopts policies to woo Sanders voters

NEW York: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden yesterday proposed expanding access to Medicare and forgiving some student debt in new overtures to supporters of onetime rival Bernie Sanders.

Biden, who became Democrats’ presumptive nominee when Sanders ended his campaign on Thursday, is working to close ranks as his party prepares a campaign to unseat Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election.

Biden’s new proposals include expanding Medicare, government insurance for Americans over 65, to those 60 and older. He also promises to forgive student debt for lowerincome Americans who attended public colleges and some other educational institutions.

‘‘Senator Sanders and his supporters can take pride in their work in laying the groundwork for these ideas, and I’m proud to adopt them as part of my campaign at this critical moment in responding to the coronavirus crisis,’’ Biden said.

Democratic presidential candidates battled for nearly a year about the practicality of Sanders’ plans to forgive all federal student debt and his Medicare for All proposal. Biden opposed both, offering his own slate of education and healthcare policies.

Now, Democrats are trying to tailor a message that can attract both the left flank of their own

party and more conservative voters who backed Trump.

Maurice Mitchell, national director at the Working Families Party, a political group that endorsed Sanders, said Biden was taking ‘‘steps in the right direction’’ but would have to go ‘‘some steps further’’.

Biden is unlikely to broadly adopt Sanders’ signature programmes like Medicare for All, according to people familiar with his plans. — Reuters