Joe Biden 20 , CD3 DFL

Biden makes case for sweeping change

President Biden on Wednesday made the case for sweeping government action in an address to a sparsely populated joint session of Congress like no other in U.S. history.

Speaking on the 99th day of his presidency in a chamber overrun by insurrectionists just more than three months ago, Biden laid out an ambitious legislative agenda before an audience of lawmakers severely limited by the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden used his address to tout his efforts to get the nation back to normal after the pandemic and the divisive presidency of Donald Trump. He made no direct mention of his predecessor, but argued those present had a responsibility to “prove democracy still works and our government still works and we can deliver for our people.” Continue reading.

U.S. to share up to 60 million vaccine doses amid pressure to aid desperate countries

The United States will share up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine with other countries, the White House said Monday, as the Biden administration faces growing pressure to help vaccinate the global population and cases spike around the world.

The move comes as India in particular faces an increasingly dire situation, with its health system showing signs of collapse — adding to the sense of urgent global need. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not authorized for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration, will be shipped out once it clears federal safety reviews, officials said.

The White House took pains to stress that the move will not affect the United States’ internal vaccination drive. “We do not need to use AstraZeneca in our fight against covid,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, noting that the domestic U.S. push relies on vaccines made by other companies. Continue reading.

Apples to apples, the Senate GOP infrastructure proposal is smaller than it appears

“These figures are what you would consider regular appropriations-plus. So it’s baseline-plus.”

—Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), remarks at a news conference, April 22

The headlines were almost all universally the same — some variation of “GOP Counters Biden With $568 Billion Infrastructure Plan.” Just about every news report suggested that the headline-number offered for the Senate Republican plan was comparable to President Biden’s $2.2 trillion infrastructure plan.

But toward the end of the news conference announcing the Republican counteroffer, Capito made the comment above. She added, “When you hear the $115 billion [Biden is] dedicating to roads, that’s in addition. So we are going to have to square the figures for you better.”

Long ago, The Fact Checker used to be a federal budget reporter. From experience, we learned that the numbers announced at news conferences often needed to be scrubbed carefully. Capito’s reference to “baseline-plus” made our ears perk up a bit. Continue reading.

Biden’s climate plan doesn’t ban meat. But baseless claims left Republicans fuming: ‘Stay out of my kitchen.’

This past weekend, a cadre of Republican critics raised the alarm that President Biden would take hamburgers and steaks off the menu as part of his new plan to combat climate change.

“To meet the Biden Green New Deal targets, America has to, get this, America has to stop eating meat,” Larry Kudlow, a former White House economic adviser to Donald Trump, said on Fox Business on Friday. “No burger on July 4. No steaks on the barbecue.”

But Biden’s plan doesn’t include any call to limit meat-eating. Instead, conservative ire was sparked by a Daily Mail article that baselessly speculated about measures that could accomplish Biden’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Continue reading.

Biden Created More Jobs in First Two Months Than Any President in History

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Tomorrow, April 29th, will mark President Joe Biden’s 100th day in office. To commemorate this, the DFL Party will spend the week highlighting various accomplishments of the start of Biden’s presidency.

When President Biden took office, he did so in an economic recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and Donald Trump’s horrendous mismanagement of it. Thanks to his strong vaccination program and investment in the American people President Biden and his administration created more new jobs in the first two months than any president in history.

Additionally, the Biden administration extended – on a bipartisan basis – the loan program for small businesses hard hit by the pandemic and provided relief to 4 million small businesses struggling to keep their doors open.

Lindsey Graham ignores Trump to slam Joe Biden as a ‘fraud’ and a ‘very destabilizing president’

Joe Biden, President Biden

During an interview on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace challenged Graham, who had recently called Biden’s presidential campaign a “fraud.”

“You have said this week that you believe that Biden’s campaign was a fraud on the country,” Wallace pointed out, “because of how differently he is governing.”

Wallace went on to observe that Biden’s actions as president have mirrored his campaign rhetoric. Continue reading.

The Memo: Biden tries to flip the script on taxes

President Biden’s plan to increase taxes on wealthy Americans is reigniting one of the fiercest divides in politics: How much should the government do, and who should foot the bill?

The president faces a fierce battle to get his infrastructure plan enacted, and he can’t depend on unified backing even from his own party.

Biden this week will propose a massive boost to social infrastructure spending on things such as paid leave, child care and tuition-free community college. Continue reading.

Biden recognizes Armenian genocide

President Biden on Saturday formally declared that the massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire more than a century ago was “genocide,” a move that is likely to exacerbate tensions with Turkey.

In doing so, Biden is fulfilling a campaign promise and becoming the first sitting president since Ronald Reagan to use the term “genocide” to describe the mass killings that occurred during the 20th century at the end of World War I.

“Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. Continue reading.

Younger Voters Favor Biden And Democrats By Historic Margins

A new poll of younger voters reveals that they strongly back President Joe Biden and the Democratic congressional majority, while more than two-thirds of them disapprove of congressional Republicans.

For 21 years, the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School has surveyed young Americans through its Harvard Youth Poll. The results of its spring 2021 poll, released Friday, reveal adults under age 30 “overwhelmingly approve of the job President Biden is doing, favor progressive policies, and have faith in their fellow Americans.”

Three-fifths of voters aged 18-29 approve of Biden’s overall job performance, 59 percent to 38 percent — slightly higher even than President Barack Obama’s numbers in the institute’s 2009 poll. Continue reading.

CDC: Fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks outside

Fully vaccinated people can venture outdoors without masks, according to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Tuesday.

The big picture: The guidelines come as more than nearly 29% of people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated and more than 42% have received at least one dose.

15 governors so far have let their state orders requiring people to wear face coverings in public expire, according to U.S. News. Many cities and local jurisdictions have also begun to increase capacity at restaurants and businesses. Continue reading.

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