Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Biden Administration. Remember where you were one year ago today. The pandemic was one year old. Unemployment was disastrous. Schools and businesses were closed. Only a few healthcare workers had gotten COVID vaccines.
What a difference a year makes! Here’s some of what the Biden/Harris administration and Democrats in Congress have accomplished:
Got Shots in Arms & Saved Lives: President Biden set up a historic vaccination program that resulted in more than 200 million Americans fully vaccinated: almost 75% of all adults. Millions of teenagers and children are now vaccinated, and tens of millions of Americans are getting booster shots. And, over 95% of schools were open in person this month. All these steps have and continue to save countless lives.
Got People Back to Work: President Biden has grown the economy faster than in decades and added 6.4 million jobs – more in one year than ever on record. Recent average weekly unemployment claims are down near a level not seen in decades. Economic growth is the strongest in two generations.
Passed Laws to Create Jobs & Rebuild Crumbling Infrastructure: President Biden got the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Law passed — the most impactful legislative agenda for a first-year president in modern history. The American Rescue Plan led to what experts estimate will be the lowest child poverty rate on record and the unemployment rate is down to 3.9% two years faster than initially projected. The Infrastructure Law will create jobs, provide clean drinking water, upgrade our roads, airports, and rail, and is a critical first step towards a clean energy future – and for the first time in 20 years, U.S. infrastructure investment will grow faster than China’s this year.
In spite of unprecedented crises and opposition from congressional Republicans, President Biden and congressional Democrats got an enormous amount done for the American people in their first year.
Expanded Affordable Health Care: President Biden increased the number of Americans with health care coverage to the highest number ever, and slashed premiums for millions – as a result of his actions, hundreds of thousands of Americans pay premiums as low as $10. He just finalized rules to ban surprise billing, an issue that has been particularly concerning to Americans in the past few years and lowered the co-pays that many Americans pay.
Restored America’s Global Leadership: President Biden restored our global alliances and ended America’s longest war. For the first time in a generation, Americans are not deployed overseas in an ongoing war. The United States donated and delivered nearly 400 million vaccinations to developing countries – more than every other country in the world.
Took Aggressive Action to Tackle the Climate Crisis: President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement and reestablished U.S. leadership at the global conference on climate change. He jump-started the production of electric vehicles and deployment of more wind and solar energy than ever before, addressing the long-lasting negative effects of legacy pollution advancing environmental justice in underserved communities, and creating good-paying, union jobs that are making our country stronger and more resilient to the changing climate.
Addressed Gun Violence and Crime: President Biden issued a comprehensive strategy to reduce gun crime, including cracking down on gun trafficking and the proliferation of “ghost guns.” The Department of Justice banned federal law enforcement from using chokeholds and “no-knock” entries. And, President Biden provided cities with historic levels of funding through the American Rescue Plan to put more cops on the beat and invest in community programs that are proven to reduce crime and make our communities safer.
Bolstered Domestic Manufacturing: President Biden increased the competitiveness of the U.S. economy by finalizing the most significant changes to Buy American in almost 70 years. He directed federal dollars to U.S. manufacturers by creating the first-ever Made in America Office. Under his Made in America executive order, federal purchases will help to bolster domestic manufacturing and manufacturing supply chains, and support good-paying, union jobs.
Bolstered Domestic Manufacturing: President Biden increased the competitiveness of the U.S. economy by finalizing the most significant changes to Buy American in almost 70 years. He directed federal dollars to U.S. manufacturers by creating the first-ever Made in America Office. Under his Made in America executive order, federal purchases will help to bolster domestic manufacturing and manufacturing supply chains, and support good-paying, union jobs.
Confirmed Historic Judges: More of President Biden’s lower-court judicial nominees were confirmed in his first year than any president in decades – and the president appointed more Black women to the Court of Appeals than any president ever.
Formed a Government That Looks Like America: President Biden was the first president since Reagan to get all his initial picks for the statutory Cabinet confirmed, and the first president ever to have a cabinet that truly looks like America: the first Cabinet that is half female and majority non-white.
Advanced Racial Equity: President Biden signed a Day One executive order on advancing equity and racial justice and a separate executive order to expand Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility across the federal government. The administration set a government-wide goal of increasing the share of federal contracts to small disadvantaged businesses, including those owned by people of color, by 50% by FY25, meaning an increase of $100 billion to these firms over 5 years. The administration provided $32B specifically for Tribal communities and Native people in the American Rescue Plan and $13 billion of direct investments in Tribal communities through the Infrastructure Law.
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