Tout the Biden Record

“[More than 6 in 10 Americans say [President Joe Biden] has not accomplished much after 10 months in office, including 71 percent of independents,” concludes a poll conducted by The Washington Post. Let’s examine the record. Here’s my running list. Add to it.

Combatting the worst global health crisis in more than a century

· Developed the COVID19 vaccine distribution plan

· Made vaccines cost-free

· Succeeded in getting 193 million Americans vaccinated, and counting

· Invoked the Defense Production Act to make vaccines and personal protective equipment

· Invested $16 billion into vaccine distribution and supply chains

· Provided $47.8 billion to expand federal, state, and local testing for COVID-19 and enhance contract-tracing capabilities

· Mandated vaccines for all federal workers and companies with more than 100 employees

· Required Head Start teachers to be vaccinated along with federally funded nursing homes

· Invested $7.66 billion to increase the size of the public health workforce

· Distributed more than one million doses of the vaccine worldwide, with a commitment to send another 500 million doses already donated

· Rejoined the World Health Organization

Restoring Jobs and the American Economy

· Provided direct stimulus payments of $1,400 to help Americans weather the recession

· Extended tax-free Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits of $300 a week

· Provided a 100% subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums so unemployed workers could remain on their employer healthcare plans

· Extended eviction and foreclosure moratoriums

· Increased the Child Tax Credit

• Provided $21.55 billion for emergency rental assistance
• Provided $5 billion in emergency housing vouchers
• Provided $100 million for tribal housing improvements
• Provided $100 million for rural housing
• Provided $5 billion to assist people experiencing homelessness

· Extended the 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits

· Allocated $490 million to the Women, Infants, and Children program

· Established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a new program for restaurants and bars, allocating $28.6 billion in pandemic assistance grants

· Added $7.25 billion to The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) allowing nonprofits to apply for forgivable loans to help cover payroll and other operating expenses

· Provided $15 billion for childcare providers through the Child Care and Development Block Grant program

· Provided pension relief, keeping more than 100 pension plans solvent and protecting retirement benefits to millions

· Provided funds for state and local governments to help compensate for lost tax revenues necessary for local economies

· Implemented a program to make American supply chains less reliant on foreign companies

· Created a record 5.6 million jobs in the first nine months in office

· Grew the U.S. economy at a rate of 5.6 percent

· Wages are up 4.9%

· Unemployment is down from 6.3% in January to 4.6% in October 2021

· Stock market S&P 500 is up 20% in 2021

· Convinced G-20 world leaders to endorse 15% minimum global corporate tax so companies cannot avoid paying a fair share of taxes

· Provided $110 billion to replace and repair roads, bridges and highways

· Provided $66 billion to boost rail, the biggest investment in half a century

· Provided $55 billion to improve the nation’s water supply and replace lead pipes

· Provided $60 billion to modernize the power grid

· Provided $65 billion to expand speedy Internet access nationwide

· Provided $7.5 billion to build out a national network of vehicle charging stations.

Getting our kids back to school

· Provided money for schools from K-8th grade to safely reopen amid the pandemic by reducing class size, improving ventilation, and purchasing masks

· Subsidized school COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs

· Provided $40 billion to colleges and universities to provide emergency financial aid grants for students

· Invested $1 billion for the Head Start program

Protecting our environment and natural resources

· Rejoined the Paris climate accord

· Helped lead agreements at the COP26 in Belfast where more than 130 countries pledged to halt deforestation and land degradation, and more than 100 nations agreed to slash methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

· Added 28 environmental protection policies and proposed an additional 23

· Overturned 47 Trump policies weakening environmental protections and has targeted an additional 72

· Provided $50 billion to respond to emergencies including droughts, wildfires and major storms

· Lowered emissions limits in new cars

· Blocked drilling at Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

· Stopped issuing new leases for oil and gas exploration on public lands

· Paused new oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters

· Pledged to cut US greenhouse gas emissions between 50 and 52 percent

· Pledged to phase down hydrofluorocarbons

· Established electric vehicle target of half of new car sales by 2030

· Promoting ‘climate-smart’ agriculture and forestry

· Transitioning to a clean federal vehicle fleet

· Replacing traditional jet fuel with sustainable alternatives by 2050

· Requiring pipeline industry to curb methane leaks

· Doubling climate aid to developing countries by 2024

· Funding breakthrough climate technology and demonstration projects

· Ending industrial-scale logging of old-growth on Tongass National Forest

· Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies

· Doubling offshore wind development by 2030

· Created a National Climate Task Force “composed of officials from 21 federal agencies and departments” and a White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy.

Restoring Law & Order

· Charged 691 people in Capitol insurrection

· Denied claims of executive privilege for former officials in connection to January 6th insurrection

· Indicted official who refused to testify before Congressional oversight committee investigating attempted overthrow of democratic election

· Directed officials to reunite children separated and incarcerated at the border with their parents

· Restricted use of chokeholds, no-knock entries by federal law enforcement

Promoting Human Rights at Home & Abroad

· Rejoined UN Human Rights Council

· Reinstated a program that allows minors from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to reunite with a parent living lawfully in the United States

· Restored rules prohibiting LGBT discrimination in housing, credit, foster care, adoption, HIV and STI prevention, youth homelessness, refugee resettlement, elder care programs

· Provided VA benefits denied to those kicked out for being LGBT

· Imposed sanctions on Chinese entities for the treatment of Uighurs

Getting Our National Security & Foreign Policy Priorities Right

· Ended the 20-year war in Afghanistan

· Conducted the largest humanitarian airlift ever completed by the U.S. military

· Announced Build Back Better World Program in coordination with other democracies to finance infrastructure projects globally to offset the influence of China’s Belt & Road program

· Invested in Australia’s Navy to combat the rise of China

· Lifted the ban on transgender patriots

· Improved international approval of U.S. leadership from 30% under Trump to 49% now

Transparency & Ethics

· Restarted posting White House visitor logs

· Released 2021 tax returns

· Issued an executive order requiring political appointees to take an ethics pledge.

· Declassified previously secret 9/11 documents

There are, of course, failures and challenges. Inflation is rising and so are gas prices. The supply chain is broken. The Biden Administration failed to protect against human rights abuses in Afghanistan when it withdrew. There are concerns with its hardline immigration enforcement at the border. One can argue about specific accomplishments listed above. What one cannot argue is that Biden has not “accomplished much” as the Post reports. The paper will argue that it is simply reporting perception, but who has shaped that perception and why is it valid to repeat something that is unsubstantiated by fact?