The Biden Administration Is Delivering

President Biden has done incredible things for America, and the Democrats are hard at work, working together, to get things done. Biden has already passed and signed two significant pieces of legislation, the American Rescue Plan and the infrastructure bill, and the Build Back Better bill just passed the House and is on its way to the Senate. Beyond that, the Biden Administration has done marvelous things to make life better for Americans, and it is working. Under President Biden, millions of jobs have been added, unemployment is falling, wages are up, two-thirds of Americans feel that their financial situation is good, child poverty has dropped, manufacturing is up, schools are open, COVID cases and deaths are slowing, and vaccinations are increasing. Life is getting better. 

In order to see these accomplishments continue, we must expand the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. If we continue to neglect and underappreciate what has already been accomplished, we risk losing everything. That is why we at Rideshare2Vote are working to spread the word as Democrats have delivered for our nation in the past, they are now, and they will continue to as long as we get out and vote in 2022. 

Follow along as we cover the historical Democratic accomplishments of what the Biden Administration has accomplished so far and things we can look forward to.

American Progress: What has Biden Administration done so far:

When President Biden’s first 100 days came to an end back in late April, there was a flurry of stories all about his accomplishments so far. Biden had signed a major bill, the American Rescue Plan, and he had issued many Executive Orders. Democrats have accomplished incredible things, and they are unifying as a party behind important legislation. 

The economy is probably the most prominent concern people have right now, but the economy is generally doing well despite concerns. 5.8 million jobs were added to the economy this year, more than in Trump’s entire presidency, according to USA Today. Unemployment is down to a pandemic low, 4.6%, and in some states is much lower, as low as 1.9%. Wages are up 4.2%, which is slightly higher than core inflation. Household wealth is high, and there is a solid housing and stock market. Biden extended federal unemployment insurance. He helped small businesses and non-profit organizations through the Paycheck Protection Plan. He created 18,000 infrastructure jobs on public lands. Biden extended the eviction ban and changed the rules to allow 25 million people to get a boost in food stamp benefits. He instituted a $15 minimum wage for federal contractors. He allowed all workers to draw unemployment if they quit their jobs because it was unsafe due to COVID, allowing workers to prioritize their health, which is essential in a pandemic. He also saved the pensions of more than 1 million retirees. 

President Biden has also made considerable strides in combating COVID. COVID cases and deaths are falling as vaccinations increase. Children 5-11 are now eligible, and booster shots have become available for all adults, strengthening our response to variants like Delta. Biden was able to accomplish his goal of 200 million shots in less than 100 days, in fact surpassing this at 220 million shots. The majority of schools were fully reopened due to guidance and funding from the federal government. Biden mandated masks on federal property and has his Department of Justice working to defend mask and vaccine mandates as well as challenging harmful bans on mask mandates in Republican states. Biden also unfroze 27 billion in funds for international COVID efforts frozen by Trump that will help other nations fight COVID so we as a world can get back to normal faster. 

President Biden’s Administration has also begun work to fight climate change. There is a commitment to cutting carbon pollution in half of 2030. He rejoined the Paris climate accord, removing us from the very short list of countries who didn’t join. He stopped drilling in the Arctic, protecting spaces that are important to wildlife and indigenous peoples. He also halted work on the Keystone XL pipeline that would have endangered the water supply of indigenous communities. In terms of clean energy, Biden began a major offshore wind energy initiative that will create 135,000 jobs. He has also stopped the harmful practice of needlessly venting methane into the atmosphere. 

Although there is much more to come, President Biden has worked to make education more accessible. He paused student loan payments and set student loan interest rates at 0 percent. He provided pandemic funding to teachers and schools. He further canceled student debt for 72,000 people and 41,000 people with disabilities. 

One focus of the Biden Administration has been to promote diversity and to help protected classes. His cabinet is the most diverse in history, including Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior. He issued an Executive Order on his very first day to fully enforce laws that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. He rescinded the Muslim ban and preserved and supported DACA. He nominated the first Senate-confirmed openly transgender official, Dr. Rachel Levine. He changed the White House website to ask for pronouns after Trump had removed all mentions of LGBTQ+ people from the website.

He also reinstated the Spanish-language version of the White House website, which Trump had taken down. Biden overturned the ban on transgender military service. He eliminated continued use of private prisons, the use of which perpetuates the targeting of BIPOC to make prisons profitable. He said gay and transgender youth are protected under civil rights law and guaranteed an educational environment free from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Finally, he provided for 5 billion in relief for Black farmers impacted by decades of discrimination. 

President Biden expanded the child tax credit to support children and their families, already bringing millions of children out of poverty, according to a study from Columbia University. He provided billions in support for meals for those affected by the pandemic, including 34 million children. He supported child care facilities through billions in the Child Care and Development Block Grant Program. And the Build Back Better plan goes much further. 

President Biden also promoted access to voting by modernizing the Vote.gov website that serves as a resource for Americans and ordered all agencies to create plans to increase access to voter registration and participation. He also created an ethics pledge for administration staff, including a lobbyist gift ban, a revolving door ban, and a golden parachute ban. In addition, he strengthened Medicaid and the ACA, rejoined the WHO, extended the ACA enrollment window, and revoked the global gag rule. 

So far in his presidency, Biden has accomplished a great deal. However, we have just scratched the surface in terms of the progress made. There are so many things that are done behind the scenes that don’t get a ceremony and don’t make the news. Under President Biden, the Executive branch has made huge changes using its ability to create regulations based on existing law. The Executive branch has overturned many destructive Trump-era regulations and created many of its own. These changes have resulted in a wide variety of benefits such as ensuring fair housing, protecting trans students, ensuring that low-income people can receive reproductive healthcare, and the list goes on. Biden has been hugely successful in moving this country forward and away from Trump’s destructive and divisive politics and policies, and he will continue to be.

If you are upset by the gridlock in Washington, join us at Rideshare2Vote as we increase voter turnout for Democrats so that they can continue to move this country forward. We need to increase our razor-thin margins in the House and Senate. This is where even more change can occur as we move the nation towards critical changes necessary for voting rights, healthcare, fight the climate crisis, increase accessible education at all levels, and work to root out the systemic racism in our nation. 

The Republicans won’t prioritize any of that, so if you want to see a better future for America, look to the accomplishments of the Biden Administration and the Democrats and vote blue in 2022.

by Betsy Zalinski