(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . What Has Biden Done [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-01-25 My son gets too much non-information from youtube videos, including repeated claims that Biden “hasn’t really done anything”. I promised I would provide him a list of Biden’s accomplishments so far. Using whitehouse.gov and DailyKos’s Good News Roundup — ”Boosting Biden” series, I made a bullet list of achievements. I also wanted something I could cut and paste if I read the same claim on social media. (You’re free to use, as well.) Let me know if I got anything wrong, or if I missed anything: Through Executive Orders, executive and administrative actions, and bipartisan legislation, Biden's accomplishments include: Economy/Employment Over the past two years, inflation reduced by two-thirds while unemployment kept low and economy grew by 3% Avoided recession Two of the strongest years of job growth in history Nearly 11 million jobs created since 2021 Created more manufacturing jobs in 2022 than in any single year in nearly 30 years 3.5% unemployment rate — the lowest in 50 years 750,000 new manufacturing jobs Near record low unemployment rate for Hispanics Near record low unemployment rate for African-Americans Record low unemployment rate for people with disabilities Awarded the most ever federal contracting dollars to small businesses and disadvantaged small businesses Incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act have spurred companies to spend nearly $300 billion on investments in manufacturing Creating “workplace hubs” to provide training, re-training, technical education, and apprenticeships in emerging technology and manufacturing Increased funding to the IRS to enable audits of high-income taxpayers, resulting in the recovery of over $160 million in back taxes owed by millionaires and billionaires Cost Of Living Executive Orders and releases of strategic oil reserves resulted in gas prices more than $1.60 lower than their summer 2022 peak $15 minimum wage for Federal workers and contractors Over 100 actions to lower household energy costs by $100 per year Over 16 million households receiving lower cost or free high-speed internet through the Affordable Connectivity Program Commitments from 20 leading internet providers to increase speeds and cut prices Inflation reduced by two thirds from its 2022 high HealthCare & Costs Millions of Americans are saving $800 per year on health insurance coverage Four out of five people can buy health insurance on healthcare.gov for $10/month or less Health insurance coverage rates increased by 50% since January 2021 More people with health insurance – 92% insured is the highest in history Lowered Medicare recipients’ health care expenses, including by capping out of pocket expenses on prescription drugs at $2,000 per year, capping insulin costs at $35/month, and providing free vaccines Lowered the cost of hearing aids by making them available over the counter $37 billion in funding for senior and disability services, including community based services Improvements to veterans' health care, particularly for veterans exposed to harmful chemicals Advanced research on cancer and other diseases through the ARPA-H initiative “Cancer Moonshot” with the goal of cutting the cancer death rate by at least half over the next 25 years Hosted the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years and released a National Strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases and disparities by 2030 Students& Student Loan Debt More than 40 million borrowers able to benefit from student debt relief Canceled over $22 billion in student loan debt so far Increased the maximum value of Pell Grants by $900 Climate/Environmental Protections Rejoined the Paris Agreement to combat climate change Over 100 Executive Orders and legislation to develop clean energy, protect America's lands and waterways, reduce pollution, and stimulate the development of clean energy businesses Reducing costs of electric vehicles (EVs) for families, initiating first national EV charging network, and historic investments into EV batteries and materials Assistance to American offshore wind industry, and convened the nation’s first federal-state offshore wind partnership New policies and regulations to reduce super pollutants like HFCs and methane gas, and to reduce other emissions fueling climate change $350 million to 14 states for the reduction of methane gas More than $1 billion for cleanup of Superfund sites, over $250 million to clean up brownfield sites, and $725 million for abandoned mine lands Restored protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments; and designated Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument for conservation of lands and waters and to protect tribal cultural resources and support outdoor recreation $1 billion to clean up and restore the Great Lakes $729 million to Virginia for railway projects Reproductive Freedom Executive Orders to protect reproductive rights, including access to emergency care, protecting the right to travel, and strengthening patient privacy COVID Relief 79% of American adults vaccinated against COVID-19, at no cost Mailed over 740 million free COVID-19 tests Funding to schools for safe re-openings Infrastructure Infrastructure investments in all 50 states, D.C., territories, and tribal nations Through the Infrastructure and Stimulus bill, over $1.9 trillion to improve, repair, and build water delivery systems, public transportation, high-speed internet, bridges, roads, railways; and to promote American industries, create jobs, and lower inflation Crime Reduced crime rates: violent crimes down 8% in 2023; in over 175 cities, murder rates down nearly 13% Signed legislation to hire more police and invest in community policing Signed legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act Signed an Executive Order to improve public safety and criminal justice for Native Americans, and to address the problem of missing and murdered indigenous people Executive Orders making sexual harassment in the military a crime and implementing procedures to strengthen the military's response to reports of sexual assault Gun Violence Signed the most significant gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 years, including enhanced background checks and other measures to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous persons Marijuana Reform Thousands of pardons for people convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law and on federal lands and D.C. Initiated review of the drug scheduling of marijuana, with a view to reducing the classification of marijuana from Schedule 1 to a more appropriate Schedule Voting Rights Signed the Electoral Count Act, to protect election integrity Diversity/Equality Appointed a record number of women and people of color to serve in the Biden Administration Appointed the first African-American woman to the Supreme Court – Ketanji Jackson Most diverse judicial appointments in history, including 66% women and 65% people of color Record number of federal contracts to small, disadvantaged businesses + measures to increase access to credit for small businesses fuel dramatic increases in small, black-owned business and in black family wealth Proposed new regulations to prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities by the medical profession and in the providing of medical treatments Proposed new regulations to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities by child welfare agencies and in child welfare decisions (e.g., foster care services, child placements, etc.) Signed bipartisan legislation protecting same-sex and interracial marriage Executive Order to protect LGBTQ+ Americans in the military from discrimination in housing, health care, education, and employment Invested historic funding for Tribal governments and Native communities Criminal Justice & Civil Rights Executive Orders for reforms to criminal justice system, to improve prison conditions, provide assistance to parolees and recently-released, and to improve police practices, including banning chokeholds, reducing no-knock entries, creating a national police accountability database, and reducing the transfer of military equipment to police departments Foreign Policy Support to Ukraine against Russian aggression, including weapons and humanitarian aid Strengthened NATO, G7, and other alliances Successful counter-terrorism missions against ISIS and Al Qaeda Sources: Whitehouse.gov; DailyKos.com (Good News Roundup “Boosting Biden” series) [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/25/2219550/-What-Has-Biden-Done?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/