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Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Elijah Cummings announced that there will be public hearings to get input on the Democratic party platform. | AP Photo DNC to hold public hearings for party platform

The Democratic National Committee plans to hold a series of hearings around the country this summer to collect input for the Democratic Party platform.

In a joint statement on Friday, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the Platform Drafting Committee for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, announced hearings in Washington, Phoenix, St. Louis and Orlando, Florida, in early June and early July.

The goal of the public hearings, the two Democrats said, is to solicit input from policy experts and regular Democrats.

The events in Washington on June 8-9, and in Phoenix on June 17-18, will be forums featuring testimony. The hearing in St. Louis on June 24-25 will be a Drafting Committee meeting, and the hearing in Orlando on July 8-9 will be a Platform Committee meeting.

"I want all Democrats to have their voices heard in this process," Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. "We are the Party of substance, ideas and diversity. We expanded the platform process to provide greater opportunity to express their views and we look forward to hearing different perspectives from across the nation."

The announcement comes as Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign looks to leave a significant imprint on the party's platform at the convention. After heated negotiations, the DNC announced that it had changed the distribution of seats on its party platform committee so Sanders would have more representation. DNC rules permitted Wasserman Schultz to select all 15 members, but the committee agreed to allow Sanders to pick five members, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton to pick six members and four members were left to the chairwoman.