Category: Joe Biden

Democrats vow to go ‘bold’ — with or without GOP

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Democrats are warning they won’t tolerate GOP stonewalling as they try to make good on their pledge to enact a “bold” agenda and avoid Obama-era missteps. 

Fresh off a big win on coronavirus relief, Democrats are facing intense pressure not to water down their legislative priorities after years of a backed-up wish list during the Trump era and a decade since the party has had a unified government it could use to muscle through sweeping reforms considered anathema to the GOP.

“We will try to get them to work with us. But if not, we will put our heads together and figure out how to go,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer(D-N.Y.) told reporters.  Continue reading.

Biden hampered by lack of confirmations

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President Biden is facing a convergence of challenges without a full complement of agency leaders who would typically oversee efforts on the ground to address them.

The administration is searching for solutions to the growing border crisis, but the president has yet to nominate officials to lead Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — three key components of the immigration system.

Biden’s trip to Georgia on Friday after a gunman killed eight people, most of whom were Asian, came amid the absence of a nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which typically assists with investigating such incidents. Continue reading.

4 steps to reaching Biden’s goal of a July 4th with much greater freedom from COVID-19

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President Joe Biden set a goal for the U.S. to have COVID-19 under enough control by summer that Americans can celebrate July 4th with family and friends, at least in small gatherings. Important in achieving this goal is another presidential request: that all U.S. adults be made eligible for COVID-19 vaccinationsby May 1.

We are public health deans who lead a variety of COVID-19 response efforts and are involved in public policy discussions. At a time when the nation is weary of hearing “no, you can’t,” we believe that thinking in terms of harm reduction – offering safer but not necessarily risk-free alternatives – is crucial. 

Harm reduction strategies are in use all around you. Seat belts and air bags are perhaps the most widespread harm reduction strategy for a leading cause of death in the U.S. Designated driver programs represent a harm reduction technique to reduce alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Another well-known example is the use of sterile syringe exchange services to help prevent HIV infection among people who inject drugs while also creating an important pathway for them to access client-centered medical and social services. Continue reading.

GOP Slams Biden’s ‘Unlawful’ Border Actions After Supporting Similar Trump Moves

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Republicans eagerly supported Donald Trump when he circumvented Congress on the border wall. Now they say Joe Biden can’t do the same.

Republicans this week accused President Joe Biden of violating federal law after he froze funding for border wall construction between the U.S. and Mexico, an impediment they say is needed to stop the growing influx of migrants there.

Sens. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), joined by 38 other GOP senators, wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office on Wednesday calling Biden’s executive order halting construction a “blatant violation of federal law and infringe(s) on Congress’s constitutional power of the purse.”

The lawmakers cited the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 law aimed at preventing executive branch officials from unilaterally substituting their own funding decisions for those of Congress. Continue reading.

Watch GOP congressman refuse over and over again to admit Biden won the election

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Rep. Lee Zeldin said ‘it’s a bit ridiculous’ to even ask him.

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) on Thursday refused to acknowledge that President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Zeldin’s denial came a day after U.S. intelligence agencies warned that similar rhetoric is fueling ongoing extremist threats in America.

Zeldin made his comments in an interview with Politico as part of the publication’s “Playbook Live” series.

Noting that he was one of several Republicans to vote against certifying the election results, reporter Ryan Lizza asked Zeldin to acknowledge that Biden won. Continue reading.

Senate confirms Marty Walsh as Biden’s Labor secretary

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The Senate on Monday confirmed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to lead President Biden’s Labor Department — the final Cabinet official who can be confirmed, for now.

Senators voted 68-29 on Walsh’s nomination, after he easily cleared a procedural hurdle late last week. 

Walsh is likely the final Cabinet pick Biden will get confirmed before the Senate takes a two-week break. Continue reading.

U.S. to send AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada and Mexico

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The U.S. will send around 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Canada, and 2.5 million to Mexico, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: This is the first time President Biden has agreed to share doses purchased by the U.S. with other countries.

  • The U.S. has come under increasing pressure for refusing to export doses, including the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet been approved in the U.S. and is not expected to play a major role in the U.S. vaccine rollout.

Details: The deal comes in the form of a loan, with the U.S. sending doses to Canada and Mexico now with the expectation that they will return doses to the U.S. later this year. Continue reading.

Stimulus drives up consumer confidence

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Stimulus checks boost confidence, especially at lower end — In the “happy headlines for the White House” department, the $1,400 checks and direct deposits now showing up in mailboxes and bank accounts across America are driving up consumer confidence once again. 

Per new data from Morning Consult out this morning: “U.S. consumer confidence increased more rapidly following the signing of the American Rescue Plan than it did following the signing of the two prior coronavirus stimulus bills.

“Over the past five days, confidence among low-and middle-income consumers increased more sharply than confidence among high-income consumers, signaling that the third stimulus bill may help counterbalance the K-shaped recovery in confidence and spending.”  Continue reading.

Phillips, Problem Solvers Caucus Deliver Bipartisan Priorities to President Biden

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Vice Chair Dean Phillips (MN-03) and his colleagues on the Problem Solvers Caucus (PSC) sent a letter to President Joe Biden outlining an agenda for bipartisan, bicameral legislation in the 117th Congress.

“You wouldn’t know it from cable news,” said Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03), Problem Solvers Caucus Vice-Chair, “but more often than not Democrats, Republicans, and Independents agree on the core issues that affect our country. We agree that our infrastructure should be the best in the world, that health care costs are out of control, and that a healthy economy means prosperous businesses and rising wages. The Problem Solvers Caucus thrives because it recognizes that bipartisanship doesn’t come from Congress—it comes from the American people. With President Biden’s help, we can fulfill that mandate, find common ground, and inspire a new era of collaboration in Washington.”

Now with 56 members, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, the Problem Solvers Caucus remains committed to finding bipartisan solutions to the major issues we face today. The PSC’s priority agenda for the 117th Congress – listed here in full – is succinctly summarized below.

Continue reading “Phillips, Problem Solvers Caucus Deliver Bipartisan Priorities to President Biden”

Tai confirmed as top U.S. trade negotiator

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Hill veteran will be first woman of color to hold the Cabinet-level post

Katherine Tai, a longtime congressional staff lawyer, won Senate confirmation on Wednesday as the first woman of color to serve as the top U.S. trade negotiator.

The Senate approved her nomination 98-0, marking a rare bipartisan agreement in a deeply-divided Washington.

Among her first tasks will be advising the president on what to do about existing tariffs on most imported Chinese products, presiding over enforcement of a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada, and seeking a negotiated end to a long-running commercial dispute with the European Union. Continue reading.