Biden will also have to weave tight Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, and marginalized, fragile Republicans will seek to unite against any evidence that Biden and his allies are dodging their political hands.
The new president wants to act urgently to “undo the most serious damage to the Trump administration,” said his top adviser Ron Klain in a memo in which draft measures by the executive and congressional were drafted in the first 100 days of administration was submitted.
Here’s a look at what to expect:
After months of calling for a more robust stimulus package, Biden proposed a $ 1.9 trillion plan last week that Democrats were keen to get through. He spoke of a “crisis of deep human suffering” and added, “there is no time to lose.”
He also plans to give a mask mandate for federal real estate and interstate travel such as airplanes, with a goal of getting 100 million vaccine shots in the first 100 days of his presidency.
More than 11,000 Georgians have died from the disease, which affects hundreds of thousands across the state.
As part of Biden’s plan to reverse the economic downturn, his coronavirus aid package includes additional direct payments of $ 1,400 to most Americans and a revival of a weekly increase in unemployment benefits of $ 400. He also calls for $ 350 billion to help states and municipalities meet funding bottlenecks and $ 35 billion for small business loan programs.
And during the general election, he promised a “Build Back Better” platform that would spend trillions of dollars on infrastructure projects and strengthen the country’s health network. He also called for the federal minimum wage to be increased to $ 15 an hour.
To help fund the spending, Biden said he will reverse the 2017 tax cuts that Trump signed, and raise taxes for wealthier Americans.
With a new majority, the Senate Democrats have already signaled that they will quickly adopt new voting measures. Similar laws were passed in the House of Representatives during the last session of Congress, only to be banned from the Senate by Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
These are the kinds of new voter protection Biden was committed to supporting. The package is likely named after Georgian Congressman John Lewis, the civil rights icon who passed away in July.
Candidate Biden also pledged to provide incentives for states to automatically restore the right to vote to those with criminal offenses once they have completed their sentences, and said he would empower the Justice Department to act as the protector of voting rights.
Biden plans to come up with a bill on Wednesday that will provide a route to citizenship without legal status for approximately 11 million immigrants now living in the United States. This could also include a fast lane for so-called “dreamers” who have lived in the country since childhood.
According to federal officials, more than 21,000 Georgians have participated in the delayed child arrival program established during the Obama administration and many have no memories of the country in which they were born.
Legislation is also expected to encourage new foreign aid to Central American countries where much of the migration originates, as well as new penalties for people smuggling people and drugs across the U.S. border.
One of Trump’s first official acts was to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, an international agreement designed to contain climate change. One of Biden’s first steps when he was sworn into the presidency is to resume the pact signed with the support of then-Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and other local leaders.
Biden also plans to organize a “world summit” to slow climate change and pressure on China to cut subsidies for coal and other fossil fuels. And he will finish the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which stretches from the prairies of Canada to Texas.
Biden’s inauguration gets a Georgian touch
Cities across Georgia, including Atlanta, will light their buildings Tuesday night to honor those who have died of COVID-19 in a ceremony that led to Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said both the town hall and canopy of Hartsfield-Jackson International airport are glowing amber.
South Fulton Firefighter Andrea Hall will lead the pledge of allegiance during Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony. Hall, the first black woman to achieve the rank of captain in her department, is also president of the local union.
Later in the afternoon there will be a virtual “Parade Across America” with a 12-year-old trumpeter from Decatur. Jason Zgonc gained notoriety this summer playing his instrument for hospital workers during the coronavirus pandemic. His performance will include a virtual duet with the New York Philharmonic trumpeter who inspired his public relations work.
Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution has two reporters on-site in Washington documenting the events of this historic weekend, including the swearing in of Georgia’s newest US Senators: Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Four years ago, we had eight employees in Washington for Donald Trump’s inauguration, but the unprecedented U.S. Capitol lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic severely restricted access and the inaugural events themselves.
Even so, our Washington correspondent Tia Mitchell and senior political reporter Greg Bluestein will be there to provide you with live coverage with a focus on Georgia links. In Atlanta, Patricia Murphy and other Georgians will follow to mark the day.
Check ajc.com for updates.
You can follow Mitchell on Facebook and Twitter at @ajconwashington, Bluestein on Facebook and Twitter at @bluestein, and Murphy at @ 1PatriciaMurphy.
And if you host or attend virtual events or celebrate in any other way, please let us know. Please send photos, videos, or thoughts about the initiation to patricia.murphy@ajc.com
