AS THE BIDEN administration enters the White House, it must focus not only on repairing the damage caused by four years of the Trump administration but also push forward a bold agenda using all available channels: unilateral executive actions, the rule-making process, and collaboration with Congress. Here’s a wish list for the first 100 days.
While we await mass distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, Americans are living through some of the highest infection and death numbers we’ve seen at any point in the pandemic. A coordinated national response to the coronavirus must be a top priority for the administration. This includes a national mask mandate, a robust and coordinated federal strategy, a national vaccine distribution strategy, and additional support and stimulus to individuals, health systems, and states to address the health and economic impacts of the disease.
While the wealthy and those with stocks and investments have only seen their wealth increase over the past year, the gap between the richest and poorest Americans has expanded dramatically. A progressive economic agenda is needed to bolster and support those with low and middle incomes (roughly 80 percent of Americans). The priorities should include rolling back tax cuts for the wealthiest; forgiving federal student debt; increasing the federal minimum wage; ensuring access to paid sick and family leave and affordable child care; modernizing unemployment insurance; and introducing a budget that supports safety net programs and invests in the people and communities struggling the most.
Following Trump’s four years of attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and push millions of people off of their insurance even in the midst of a historic pandemic, the Biden administration must work to protect and expand the basic principles of the ACA to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable and effective health insurance. We need to look seriously at how to improve the ACA rather than foment anxiety about its demise.
On immigration, Biden must end the “public charge” rule that may prevent lawful permanent residence or visa applications if the applicant has received government assistance, such as Section 8 housing or food assistance; the executive orders banning foreign nationals and refugees from specific predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.; and expansion of the U.S.-Mexico “border wall.” He must increase the refugee cap to levels higher than during the Obama administration. And, most importantly, he must create a path to citizenship for the nearly 11 million immigrants currently living in the U.S.
On climate, the new administration must reinstate the more than 125 environmental rules ended by the Trump administration, rejoin the Paris Agreement, invest in renewable energy, and work toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
The murder of George Floyd requires renewed focus on our stark racial inequities. The administration must lead fresh conversations on police and criminal justice reform, focus on the racial wealth gap, and create a U.S. Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation.
In foreign policy, the administration needs to reengage collaboratively in international bodies; rejoin the Iran nuclear deal; and show support for the nuclear weapons ban treaty.
Americans will not be satisfied with a simple “reset” after four years of Trump. The new administration needs to take us on a giant leap forward. We need a creative, captivating vision for the U.S. in the mid-21st century—one in which all who live in this country see a future for themselves. A country where everyone can live in peace and unafraid.
James Simpson is director of the president’s office and director of advocacy at Sojourners.
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