Tag: Biden administraiton

Biden’s best ally in his push to upgrade infrastructure for climate change? Climate change.

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Even if our planet were exactly the same as it was in 1950, key elements of the United States’ infrastructure are in need of repair. Highways need to be resurfaced or rebuilt. Bridges need to be reinforced. Public transit needs to be overhauled. Communications systems need to be upgraded.

But the planet is not exactly the same as it was 70 years ago. It is far hotter and its atmosphere and its oceans are more densely packed with carbon dioxide. The effects of this heat are myriad. One effect is, obviously, that temperatures are hotter than they used to be. That heat warms the oceans, causing them to expand and rise and causing them to store more energy that can power major storms. Warmer air also holds more moisture, meaning that storms over land result in more precipitation.

The combination of higher oceans and more rain increases the likelihood of flooding at the coasts. At the same time, that increased surface-level heat more rapidly strips away moisture, leading to deeper, longer droughts. Continue reading.

Fresh off election falsehoods, Republicans serve up a whopper about Biden

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By the time President Biden’s aides gathered for their morning meeting on Monday, the juicy whopper of a mistruth making its way around the conservative ecosphere — that Biden’s climate plan would significantly limit America’s hamburger consumption — had officially entered mainstream public discourse.

Biden’s team looked for an opportunity to quickly debunk the falsehood. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain retweeted a CNN fact check titled, “No, Biden is not trying to force Americans to eat less red meat,” while several press aides tweeted a photo of a grinning Biden flipping burgers at a 2019 Iowa steak fry, along with the caption, “White House to the fact-challenged: where’s the beef?”

To White House aides, the wholly fictional Biden-will-ban-hamburgers story line was in part an amusing flare-up perpetuated by Republicans who have struggled to find ways to successfully attack the president. They joked privately that White House press secretary Jen Psaki should start her daily press briefing by eating a burger. Continue reading.

Billions in New Obamacare Subsidies Are Now Available on Healthcare.gov

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Nearly everyone with a marketplace health plan can seek more financial help. Many uninsured Americans and people who buy their insurance elsewhere can also benefit.

Federal officials have reprogrammed Healthcare.gov, making new benefits available to tens of millions of Americans, weeks after Congress authorized spending billions on additional health law subsidies.

The Biden administration has doubled Obamacare’s advertising budget to get the word out, and will now spend $100 million telling Americans about newly affordable options.

Nearly everyone with an Affordable Care Act health plan can now qualify for increased financial help with premiums by going back to the website. Many Americans who buy their own insurance outside the A.C.A. marketplaces may also qualify for substantial help, and may benefit from reviewing options and switching to an eligible plan. Uninsured Americans also qualify. Continue reading.

Biden to name Pete Buttigieg to lead Department of Transportation

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Joe Biden plans to name Mayor Pete Buttigieg as his transportation secretary as early as today, tapping a former rival to help rebuild America’s infrastructure, according to three people familiar with the matter. 

Why it matters: By selecting Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for transportation, Biden will be nominating the first openly gay person for a Cabinet position. 

  • Biden will also ensure that the 38-year-old Buttigieg, who rocketed to the front of the Democratic Party and won the most delegates in Iowa, plays a central role in his administration, as billions of dollars are expected to run through the Transportation Department if Biden passed his Build Back Better agenda. Continue reading.

Republican Senate signals it will confirm Biden Cabinet

A series of GOP senators told POLITICO they’d back the president-elect’s nominees — as long as they’re “mainstream.”

Senate Republicans are signaling they will confirm most of President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet picks in January — a rare bright spot for a White House that may clash with a GOP majority for years to come.

Many Republicans won’t even publicly concede that Biden will be the next president while President Donald Trump fights to overturn the election results. But a critical mass of GOP senators said in interviews that Biden has the right to his Cabinet, indicating he may be able to staff his administration largely to his liking.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said that he believes a “president ought to be able to pick his or her Cabinet barring someone who is out of the mainstream of either party,” and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) gives “great latitude” to presidents to make appointments. Those two plus Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) give Biden a working majority on Cabinet picks, even if Democrats fall short in a pair of Georgia runoffs and the GOP holds a 52-48 majority. Continue reading.