Hey Joe

Wondering what your president's been up to lately?

WordPress:

• $1.9T American Rescue Plan
• $1400 stimulus checks for adults, children, and adult dependents
• 1 year child tax credit expansion – $3600 0-5, $3000 6-17, removed income reqs and made fully refundable
• One year EITC expansion
• $350 billion state and local aid
• $130 billion for schools for safe reopening
• $40 billion for higher ed, half of which must go to student aid
• Extended $300 supplemental UI through September 2021
• Expanded eligibility for extended UI to cover new categories
• Made $10,200 in UI from 2020 tax free
• $1B for Head Start
• $24B Childcare stabilization fund
• $15B in low-income childcare grants
• One Year Child and Dependent Care credit expansion
• $46.5B in housing assistance, inc:
• $21.5B rental assistance
• $10B homeowner relief
• $5B for Sec 8 vouchers
• $5B to fight homelessness
• $5B for utilities assistance
• Extended Eviction moratorium through Aug 2021 (SC struck down)
• 2 year ACA tax credit expansion and ending of subsidy cliff – expanded coverage to millions and cut costs for millions more
• 100% COBRA subsidy through Sept 30th, 2021
• 6 month special enrollment period from Feb-Aug 2021
• Required insurers to cover PrEP, an HIV prevention drug, including all clinical visits relating to it
• Extended open enrollment from 45 to 76 days
• New year round special enrollment period for low income enrollees
• Restored Navigator program to assist with ACA sign up
• Removed separate billing requirement for ACA abortion coverage
• Eliminated regulation that allows states to privatize their exchanges
• Eliminated all Medicaid work requirements
• Permanently removed restriction on access to abortion pills by mail
• Signed the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act to fund increased ALS research and expedite access to experimental treatments
• Rescinded Mexico City Policy (global gag rule) which barred international non-profits from receiving US funding if they provided abortion counseling or referrals
• Allowed states to extend coverage through Medicaid and CHIP to post-partum women for 1 year (up from 60 days)
• 42 Lifetime Federal judges confirmed – most in 40 years
• 13 Circuit Court judges
• 29 District Court judges
• Named first openly LBGTQ woman to sit on an appeals court, first Muslim American federal judge, and record number of black women and public defenders
• $1.2T infrastructure law, including $550B in new funding $
• $110B for roads and bridges
• $66B for passenger and freight rail
• $39B for public transit, plus $30.5B in public transit funds from ARP
• $65B for grid expansion to build out grid for clean energy transmission
• $50B for climate resiliency
• $21 for environmental remediation, incl. superfund cleanup and capping orphan wells
• $7.5B for electric buses
• $7.5B for electric charging stations
• $55B for water and wastewater, including lead pipe removal
• $65B for Affordable Broadband
• $25B for airports, plus $8B from ARP
• $17B for ports and waterways
• $1B in reconnecting communities
• Rejoined the Paris Climate Accords 50% emission reduction goal (2005 levels) by 2030
• EO instructing all federal agencies to implement climate change prevention measures
• Ordered 100% carbon free electricity federal procurement by 2030
• 100% zero emission light vehicle procurement by 2027, all vehicles by 2035
• Net Zero federal building portfolio by 2045, 50% reduction by 2032
• Net Zero federal procurement no later than 2050
• Net zero emissions from federal operations by 2050, 65% reduction by 2030
• Finalized rule slashing the use of hydrofluorocarbons by 85% by 2036 – will slow temp rise by 0.5°C on it’s own.
• Set new fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, raising the requirement for 2026 from 43mpg to 55mpg.
• Protected Tongass National Forest, one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, from development, mining, and logging
• Revoked Keystone XL permit
• Used the CRA to reverse the Trump administration Methane rule, restoring stronger Obama era standards.
• EPA proposed new methane rule stricter than Obama rule, would reduce 41 million tons of methane emissions by 2035
• Partnered with the EU to create the Global Methane Pledge, which over 100 countries have signed, to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels
• US-EU trade deal to reward clean steel and aluminum and penalize dirty production
• Ended US funding for new coal and fossil fuel projects overseas, and prioritized funding towards clean energy projects
• G7 partnership for “Build Back Better World” – to fund $100s of billions in climate friendly infrastructure in developing countries
• Restoring California’s ability to set stricter climate requirements
• Signed EO on Climate Related Financial Risk that instructs rule making agencies to take climate change related risk into consideration when writing rules and regulations.
• $100M for environmental justice initiatives
• $1.1B for Everglades restoration
• $100M for environmental justice initiatives
• $1.1B for Everglades restoration
• 30 GW Offshore Wind Plan
• Largest ever offshore wind lease sale in NY and NJ
• Offshore wind lease sale in California
• Expedited reviews of Offshore Wind Projects
• $3B in DOE loans for offshore wind projects
• $230M in port infrastructure for Offshore wind
• Solar plan to reduce cost of solar by more than 50% by 2030 including $128M in funding to lower costs and improve performance of solar technology
• Multi-agency partnership to expedite clean energy projects on federal land
• Instructed Dept of Energy to strengthen appliance efficiency rules
• Finalized rule to prevent cheating on efficiency standards
• Finalized rule to expedite appliance efficiency standards
• Repealed Federal Architecture EO that made sustainable federal buildings harder to build
• Reversed size cuts and restored protections to Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monuments
• Restoring NEPA regulations to take into account climate change and environmental impacts in federal permitting
• Extended public health emergency through at least April 15, 2022
• $50B in funding for FEMA for COVID Disaster Relief including vaccine funding
• Set 100% FEMA reimbursement to states for COVID costs, retroactively to start of pandemic
• $47.8B for testing
• $1.75B for COVID genome sequencing
• $8.5B to CDC for vaccines
• $7.6B to state and local health depts
• $7.6B to community health centers
• $6B to Indian Health Services
• $17B to the VA, including $1B to forgive veteran medical debt
• $3B to address mental health and substance abuse
• Over 500 million vaccine shots administered in a year
• Established 90,000 free vaccination sites
• Raised federal reimbursement from $23 to $40 per shot for vaccine sites
• 6000 troops deployed for initial vaccination
• Cash incentives, free rides, and free childcare for initial vaccination drive
• 400 million vaccines donated internationally, 1.2 billion committed
• $2B contribution to COVAX for global vaccinations
• Funded expansion of vaccine manufacturing in India and South Africa
• Implemented vaccine mandate for federal employees, contractors, and employees at healthcare providers that receive Medicare/Medicaid funding.
• •Implemented vaccine/test mandate for large businesses (SC struck down)
• Invoked DPA for testing, vaccine, PPE manufacturing
• Federal mask mandate for federal buildings, federal employees, and public transportation
• Implemented test requirement for international travel
• Implemented joint FDA-NIH expedited process to approve at home tests more quickly
• Over 20,000 free federal testing sites
• 8 at home tests per month required to be reimbursed by insurance
• 1B at home tests available for free by mail
• 50M at home tests available free at community health centers
• 25M high quality reusable masks for low-income residents in early 2021
• 400M free N95 masks at pharmacies and health centers
• Military medical teams deployed to help overburdened hospitals
• Rejoined the WHO
• Ended the ban on trans soldiers in the military
• Reversed Trump admin limits on Bostock ruling and fully enforced it
• Prohibited discrimination against LGBTQ patients in healthcare
• Prohibited discrimination against LGBTQ families in housing under the Fair Housing Act
• Prohibited discrimination against LGBTQ people in the financial system to access loans or credit
• Justice Department declared that Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education.
• Revoked ban on Federal Diversity Training
• Instructed the VA to review its policies to remove barriers to care for trans veterans
• First Senate confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet Secretary
• First trans person confirmed by the Senate
• Extended birthright citizenship to children of same sex couples born abroad
• State Department allows X gender marker on passport for non-binary Americans
• Banned new contracts with private prisons for criminal prisons
• Justice Department reestablished the use of consent degrees with police departments
• Pattern and Practice investigation into Phoenix, Louisville, and Minneapolis
• Banned chokeholds and limited no-knock raids among federal law enforcement
• Initiative to ban modern day redlining
• Doubled DOJ Civil Rights Division staff
• Increase percentage of federal contract for small disadvantaged businesses from 5% to 15% ($100B in additional contracts over 5 years)
• Sued TX and GA over voting laws. Sued TX over abortion law. Sued GA over prison abuse.
• Signed law making Juneteenth a federal holiday
• Signed EO to use the federal government to improve voting access through federal programs and departments.
• Signed COVID-19 Hate Crime Act, which made more resources available to support the reporting of hate crimes
• Signed EO for diversity in the federal workplace
• Increased federal employment opportunities for previously incarcerated persons
• Banned ghost guns
• New regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces
• First annual gun trafficking report in 20 years
• New zero tolerance policy for gun dealers who willfully violate the law
• Signed COPS act, ensuring confidentiality for peer counseling for police officers
• Signed Protecting America’s First Responders Act, expediting benefits for officers disabled in the line of duty
• Signed bill making it a crime to harm US law enforcement overseas
• Student loan freeze through April 30th, 2022
• Changed criteria so an additional 1.14M borrowers qualified for the loan pause (retroactively forgave interest and penalties)
• Forgiven $11.5B in student loans for disabled students, students who were defrauded, and PSLF
• Fixed PSLF so that it is much easier for previous payments to apply.
• Determined that the paused months will apply to PSLF
• Student loan debt forgiveness is tax free through 2025
• Ended Border Wall emergency and cancelled all new border wall construction and contracts
• Repealed Trump’s Muslim Ban
• Set FY 2022 refugee cap to 125,000, the highest in almost 30 years
• Prohibiting ICE from conducting workplace raids
• Family reunification taskforce to reunite separated families. Reunited over 100+ families and gave them status to stay in US
• Granted or extended TPS for Haitians, Venezuelans, Syrians, and Liberians
• Lifted moratorium on green cards and immigrant visas
• Ended use of public charge rule to deny green cards
• Loosened the criteria to qualify for asylum
• Changed ICE enforcement priorities
• Reinitiated the CAM Refugee program for Northern Triangle minors to apply for asylum from their home countries
• $1B+ in public aid and private investment for addressing the root causes of migration
• Ended family detention of immigrants and moved towards other monitoring
• HHS prohibited working with ICE on enforcement for sponsors of unaccompanied minors
• Got rid of harder citizenship test
• Allowed certain visas to be obtained without an in person consulate interview
• Rescinded “metering” policy that limited migrants at ports of entry
• Ended the War in Afghanistan
• First time in 20 years US not involved in a war
• Ended support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen
• Airstrikes down 54% in 2021 from 2020.
• Issued policy restricting drone strikes outside of warzones
• Restored $235M in aid to Palestinians
• AUKUS defense pact with Australia and UK
• New rules to counter extremism within the military
• Signed law funding capitol police and Afghan Refugees
• EO on competitiveness to write consumer friendly rules, such as right to repair
• EO on improving government experience, incl
• Social Security benefits will be able to be claimed online
• Passports can be renewed online
• Makes it easier for low-income families to apply for benefits
• Increase telehealth options
• WIC recipients can use benefits online
• $7.25B in additional PPP funds
• Signed PPP extension law to extend the program for 2 months
• Changed criteria to make it easier for small and minority businesses to qualify for PPP loans
• $29B Restaurant Recovery Fund to recover lost revenue
• $1.25B Shuttered Venue fund
• $10.4B for agriculture
• 30 year bailout of multi-employer pension funds that protects millions of pensions through 2051.
• Pro-labor majority appointed to NLRB
• Established task force to promote unionization
• Restored collective bargaining right for federal employees
• Negotiated deal for West Coast Ports to run 24/7 to ease supply chain
• Signed EO to secure and strengthen supply chains
• Investing $1B in small food processors to combat meat prices
• Extended 15% SNAP benefit increase through Sept 30, 2021
• Made 12 million previously ineligible beneficiaries eligible for the increase
• Public health emergency helps keep benefits in place
• Largest permanent increase in SNAP benefit history, raising permanent benefits by 27% ($20B per year)
• Made school lunches free through for all through the 2021-2022 school year
• Extended the Pandemic EBT program
• Largest ever summer food program in 2021 provided 34 million students with $375 for meals over the summer.
• Restarted the FHA-HFA risk sharing program to finance affordable housing development
• Raised Fannie/Freddie’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit from $1B to $1.7B a year to invest in affordable housing
• $383M CMF grant program for affordable housing production
• Prioritizing owner-occupants and non-profits as purchasers of FHA-insured and Distressed HUD properties, rather than large investors
• Paid a 10% retention incentive to permanent federal firefighters and a $1000 bonus to seasonal firefighters
• Transitioned hundreds of federal firefighters from part time to full time and hired hundreds more
• $28.6B in supplemental disaster relief approved for natural disasters
• $8.7B in funding to increase lending to minority communities
• Released $1.3B in Puerto Rico disaster aid previously held up by Trump admin and removed restrictions on $8.2B housing disaster aid
• Forgave $371M in community disaster loans in PR
• Released $912M in previously withheld education aid to PR
• Permanently made all families in PR eligible for the CTC (previously only families with 3 or more children were)
• Provided permanent funding to quadruple the size of PRs local earned income tax credit
• Permanent $3B per year boost to funding for PR’s Medicaid program
• Raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractor, eliminated the minimum wage exception for certain contractor positions, and ended the tipped contractor wage.
• Ordered the minimum wage for federal employees to be raised to $15 an hour
• Medicaid drug rebate change to discourage excessive price increases and save Gov $23.5B
• Incentives for states to expand Medicaid
• Finalized the rule that bans surprise medical bills for out of network medical services
• Instituted a moratorium on the federal death penalty