When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn into office in the midst of the Great Depression, the country was in crisis with one quarter of Americans unemployed. By the end of his first 100 days, FDR had led the passage of 15 various bills overhauling the nation and laying the foundation for a strong economic recovery. Nearly 100 years later, President Joe Biden has inherited the nation at one of its weakest moments in history. Issues he must confront include the coronavirus pandemic that has left 500,000 Americans dead and 10 million unemployed, a severely divided political landscape, climate change, immigration, a nation reckoning with racial justice, the increasing power of China and its crimes against Uighur Muslims, growing wealth inequality, and many more. To combat these issues, Biden has proposed a wide variety of solutions that he plans to enact within his first 100 days in office.
To combat the coronavirus pandemic, Biden has pledged to ramp up production and distribution of the approved COVID-19 vaccines. His goal is to administer 100 million doses by the end of his first 100 days. He has also purchased 200 million additional doses, bringing the total number purchased to 600 million, which should fully vaccinate 300 million Americans. He vowed that any American who wants a vaccine will have access to one by the end of July. Biden also reversed the planned pullout of the U.S. from the World Health Organization, which was supposed to take effect in June.
Joe Biden also called for unity in America, as America seems to be more divided than at any point in modern history. In a recent town hall, Biden claimed America is not as divided as it seems, for many Americans share common ground on certain issues. This claim does hold some water, i.e. 70% of Americans support marijuana legalization, 78% support stimulus checks, 67% support increasing the federal minimum wage, and 70% of Americans agree that “the government does not represent the America that I love.”
Joe Biden has signed several executive orders that aim to combat climate change, which include rejoining the Paris climate agreement and pausing new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters. But it is important to note that all of Joe Bidens’ executive actions can be rescinded by future presidents, so the most meaningful changes must be passed by Congress. Joe Biden wants America to have net-zero emissions by 2050, but he faces an uphill battle in getting any legislation regarding climate change through Congress. Democratic senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia (a prominent coal-producing state) is the new chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, and he will wield much power in determining which climate legislation sees the light of day.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have revealed a new immmigration plan that would provide a path to citizenship for millions. Based on Biden’s immigration proposal released during his first few days in office, this bill focuses around an eight-year path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America (for context, the population of Michigan is around 10 million). After passing background checks and paying taxes, they could live and work in America for 5 years before they receive a green card, leading to citizenship 3 years after that. However, it will be difficult to win over the 10 Republican senators needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate and pass the bill.
Regarding China, Biden has voiced several issues he has with their unfair trade practices and human rights issues, but he has given few concrete details yet on how he will engage with China during his term. To combat growing wealth inequality, Biden plans to pass trillions more in economic stimulus due to the pandemic. He also aims to pass an infrastructure bill that he hopes will create more blue collar jobs, and he plans to roll back Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations.
It is exceedingly clear that Joe Biden has big goals for his next four years in office, combatting a wide range of issues starting on the day of his inauguration. However, it remains to be seen whether he can successfully pass any meaningful and long-lasting legislation through a congress that can quite easily upset his plans.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 老司机传媒. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 老司机传媒 or the Seventh-day Adventist church.