Leslie Marshall: Biden's Top 10 achievements after just 50+ days in office
The president's accomplishments are in addition to the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Joe Biden has been president for almost two months. He inherited a terrible economy, people dying during a pandemic, children learning from home while many schools are still closed, businesses closing their doors whether temporarily or permanently, and yet a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll puts his approval rating at 61%, with 31% of Republicans approving of how he’s doing so far.
What has Joe Biden accomplished so far? In addition to securing passage of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, here are my top 10:
Diversity
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Candidate Joe Biden pledged to make his Cabinet the most diverse in U.S. history and he has. Nearly 55% of his Cabinet members are people of color and 45% are female. He also has appointed the first openly gay secretary to be confirmed by the Senate, with Pete Buttigieg at Transportation, the first woman to lead the Treasury with Janet Yellen, and the first Native American in a president’s cabinet with Deb Haaland. Donald Trump’s initial Cabinet was 82% white and 82% male.
Masks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Unlike his predecessor, Biden has not made masks a political issue, but a health and safety measure. One of the first orders of business was signing an executive order making masks mandatory on federal property. The order also requires masks on various modes of public transportation, including trains, airplanes and intercity buses. The science shows that COVID-19 is transmitted by droplets from our mouth and nose, and by wearing a mask we are less likely to spread the virus to others or get it ourselves.
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WHO
Biden made the decision to rejoin the World Health Organization, a move applauded by scientists worldwide. It was also welcomed by millions of voters, who felt that the worst time to leave an international alliance was during a pandemic. To maintain our leadership on global health issues, we cannot isolate ourselves from the other nations of the world, especially our allies. Beyond the symbolism of this decision, there is also a practical side – we are fulfilling our commitment to boost public health and protect Americans from new strains of COVID-19 and future disease threats.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vaccines
Biden said the vaccine situation he inherited was "more dire than we thought," and that the former administration "did not order enough vaccine and did not do enough to get people lined up to get vaccinated." Now, after securing additional deals with companies such as Pfizer, the president will be obtaining 200 million additional vaccines doses by the end of May, two months ahead of schedule. And the goal he set of 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days – called overly ambitious by some -- will be surpassed as the U.S. is averaging 1.7 million vaccinations per day. Biden says we could be "approaching normalcy by the end of this year."
One of Biden’s first executive orders was to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, yet another campaign promise he kept.
Foreclosure-Eviction Moratorium and Student Debt
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Renters and homeowners who have federally backed mortgages can breathe a sign of relief as Biden signed an executive order to extend the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until the end of June 2021. And those homeowners have until the end of June to request mortgage payment forbearance if they haven’t already done so. This new order allows up to six additional months of relief. The president also directed the Department of Education via executive order to extend the moratorium on student loan payments, interest and collections. The order said the moratorium would go to "at least" Sept. 30, 2021, indicating it could be extended further depending on economic conditions.
COVID-19 Relief and Support
Biden, with numerous executive orders, is addressing a complaint by many that the Trump administration didn’t have a plan to deal with COVID. The orders help house the homeless by ordering FEMA to fully reimburse municipalities for homeless housing expenditures; instruct agencies to use data to improve access to programs that provide pandemic relief, especially in areas hardest hit by the virus; study the long-term effects of COVID; coordinate supplies and treatments from PPE to tests to vaccines; create a COVID testing board so more people can get tested and have access to testing sites; and expand support to individual states by reimbursing them for costs associated with this pandemic.
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Paris Climate Agreement
One of Biden’s first executive orders was to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, yet another campaign promise he kept. This action signaled that the United States is back as a climate leader and major diplomatic power – and it makes a difference, contrary to climate change deniers. First, the United States is the second-largest polluter in the world after China. Second, we have the world’s largest economy. With the U.S. at the table, the world has a better shot at holding countries accountable. And, prices of alternative energy sources have plummeted in recent years, making it possible to truly have a cleaner planet for our children and our children’s children worldwide.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dreamers
On day one of his presidency, Joe Biden proposed an immigration bill that features a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and makes Dreamers immediately eligible for green cards. He also signed a memorandum directing the secretary of Homeland Security to take actions aimed at "preserving and fortifying" the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides protection against deportation and work authorization to certain Dreamers. Trump repeatedly tried to end DACA and was blocked by the Supreme Court from doing so.
Emergency Help
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Though conservatives believe too much government is bad, and borders on socialism, when their state is in trouble they typically cry out to the federal government for help, as Texas did recently when it suffered major power outages amid subzero temperatures. Not only did Biden sign an emergency declaration for Texas on Feb. 14, but he also granted Gov. Greg Abbott’s request for a major disaster declaration, which provides a wide range of federal assistance for both individuals and public infrastructure. The president also visited the state of Texas.
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Buy American
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Biden doesn’t just want we the people to buy American, but he also wants things to be made here. That’s why he signed an executive order to review critical supply chains with the aim of bolstering American manufacturing of semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and other cutting-edge technologies. The president cast the move as an important step toward creating well-paying jobs and making the economy more resilient in the face of geopolitical threats, pandemics and climate change. This effort has bipartisan support.
The list could go on, all showing that President Biden and his team came prepared. Prepared to undo things he, his administration, his party and the majority of voters believed were not beneficial to the nation. Prepared to assist Americans and our nation until COVID and all that has resulted from this pandemic is in our rearview mirror.