WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden set an ambitious agenda for his first 100 days in office, promising swift action on everything from climate change to immigration reform and the coronavirus pandemic.
He will take office on his 50th day on Wednesday as his administration sees an important milestone: the final passage of Congress of its massive $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package. The bill includes direct payments to millions of Americans and money to help the White House deliver on some of Biden’s biggest campaign promises, such as reopening schools and getting more Americans vaccinated.
After 50 days, Biden has made great strides on some key campaign promises for his earliest days in office, while others are still awaiting action. Where he stands on some of his key promises:
COMPLETED GOALS
Biden prioritized tackling the coronavirus pandemic during his first weeks in office, and the focus has paid off. He is on track to meet his goal of 100 million vaccine doses delivered in his first 100 days by the end of next week. The daily number of vaccinations now averages over 2 million injections and more than 75 million doses have been administered since Biden was sworn in.
Biden also took several early actions to deliver on climate policy commitments. He signed an executive order on inauguration day revoking the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, halting development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and ordering a review of Trump-era environmental, public health and science regulations. . An executive order dated Jan. 27 stopped new oil and gas leases on federal land and offshore waters.
Biden has also easily delivered on top campaign promises, with the Trump administration rolling back everything from climate change to immigration. Early on, the Biden government rejoined the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement, halted construction of the border wall, ended travel restrictions on people from several Muslim-majority countries, and set up a task force to help separate families in the USA to reunite. Mexican border.
As for immigration, Biden pledged to deliver a comprehensive reform bill to Congress within his first 100 days, and it was unveiled last month, although Biden has already indicated that he is open to a step-by-step approach, if necessary. Biden also issued an executive order directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to “preserve and strengthen” the protection of young immigrants brought to the US by their parents.
Biden has also taken some early steps to fulfill a pledge to tighten up ethical standards in his administration, including an executive order dated Jan. 20 imposing an ethical pledge on appointees who direct activities such as lobbying and hiring gifts, including prohibiting political interference in the Department of Justice. .
BUSY
Still other Biden pledges remain a work in progress.
Biden’s national COVID-19 strategy promised to establish 100 new, federally-backed vaccination centers across the country by the end of February. So far, the administration is in about 20 massive vaccination sites operated end-to-end by the federal government and staffed by active forces deployed by the Pentagon. Overall, the administration says, at least 441 vaccination sites are now federally supported. Many of those weren’t new sites, but almost all of them expanded their capacity with the additional federal resources.
About immigration Biden promised to undo the “prosecution” rule put in place by the Trump administration to discourage immigrants from taking advantage of public benefits, streamline the naturalization process and reform the US asylum system within its first 100 days. An executive order he signed in early February directs the relevant agencies to review that policy and recommend changes within 60 days.
The government has taken some steps to reform the asylum system, including a move by the Department of Homeland Security on Biden’s first day in office to suspend a Trump-era program requiring asylum seekers in Mexico to wait while their applications were assessed. But Biden has yet to formulate a plan to contain asylum flows, in addition to proposing to spend billions of dollars to address root causes in Central America.
The president has also maintained pandemic-related powers that allow his government to immediately expel people at the border without the option of seeking asylum. Biden aides have said they have no immediate plans to end the authority Trump introduced a year ago using an obscure 1944 public health law.
Biden also pledged to end the long-term detention of migrant families. Immigration and customs enforcement announced last week that it plans to discontinue use of one of these facilities, but ICE will continue to hold families in two other facilities in Texas for three days or less. And the Biden government is expanding the capacity of a number of long-term facilities for immigrant children to address the continued increase in unaccompanied minors at the border.
On climate change, Biden pledged to make enforceable commitments from other countries to reduce emissions from global shipping and aviation and to hold a climate summit to discuss new and more ambitious commitments to address climate change, within its first 100 days. The US will hold such a summit on April 22, Earth Day.
Reopening American schools is one of Biden’s main campaign promises that has proven more difficult to implement, in part because the decision whether or not to return to personal learning is left to local officials and teacher unions. After some back and forth on the details of his goal, Biden said last month that his 100-day mission was to have most elementary schools open five days a week for personal learning.
This month, he ordered states to prioritize teacher vaccination and announced that he would spend federal funds vaccinating teachers in March. The Biden government hopes that teachers will feel more comfortable returning to personal learning with the passage of the coronavirus control bill and the distribution of millions in aid to schools to improve security measures.
According to Burbio, who is tracking plans for reopening schools, about 47% of preschool through 12th grade students have access to a personal school every weekday.
WAITING FOR ACTION
The Biden government has not yet taken significant steps in criminal justice reform, other than an executive order to terminate private prison contracts. Biden promised to set up a police oversight board within his first 100 days, but so far there has been no clear move in that direction.
Other 100-day pledges also await movement: creating a cabinet-level working group focused on promoting union participation, and ordering an FBI review of background check issues for weapons purchases.
Some of Biden’s 100-day pledges require congressional action, such as his pledge to re-approve the Violence Against Women Act and increase taxes for businesses. Biden also pledged to make passage of the Equality Act, which excludes discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, a priority in its first 100 days. That bill has been passed by the House, but not by the Senate.
And some of his promises are waiting for Biden’s cabinet secretaries to be confirmed by the Senate. Regarding gun control, Biden has said he would order his attorney general to make recommendations to restructure key Justice Department agencies to more effectively enforce the country’s gun laws. He also promised that his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development would lead a working group to make recommendations to make housing a right for all Americans.
Both his attorney general candidate, Merrick Garland, and his candidate to lead the housing division, Rep. Marcia Fudge are expected to receive confirmation this week.