President Biden is trying to improve the atmosphere
Democrats must re-elect POTUS and keep Joe Biden in our White House also to have a clear House and Senate majority in Congress and finish the job.
POTUS may be old, but he has the experience. Joe Biden was born in 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Claymont, Delaware. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in history and political science and received his law degree from the Syracuse University Law School. Biden practiced law and worked as a public defender before seeking public office.
From 1970 to 1972, Biden served on the New Castle County Council. He was elected to represent Delaware in the U.S. Senate at the age of 29, receiving 58% of the vote to defeat incumbent Sen. James Caleb Boggs (R). Two weeks after the election, his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident, which his two sons survived.
Biden served in the Senate from 1973 to 2009. During his Senate career, he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Foreign Relations for several years.
Biden launched his first presidential bid in 1987 but withdrew from the race. He launched a second presidential campaign in 2007, dropping out of the race following the 2008 Iowa caucuses, where he placed fifth.[15] Then-candidate Barack Obama announced Biden was his choice for running mate in August 2008, and the pair won the general election.[16] Biden served as the 47th vice president of the United States from 2009 to 2017.
The Democrats reach out to all Americans, including disenfranchised voters.
POTUS and the VP are uniquely poised to restore the integrity of the White House and to repair the damage of the last four years.
We all experienced the horrible job Donald J Trump did as the 45th President Of The United States. He was there representing himself and his friends and associates who would pay him to do their bidding. He had and still has no interest in serving the average common residents of the United States. Read More... Even More...
Donald Trump finished 45th and rock bottom of a list ranking US presidents by greatness, trailing even “historically calamitous chief executives” who failed to stop the civil war or botched its aftermath.
Worse for the likely Republican nominee this year, his probable opponent, Joe Biden, debuted at No. 14.
“Biden’s most important achievements may be that he rescued the presidency from Trump, resumed a more traditional style of presidential leadership, and is gearing up to keep the office out of his predecessor’s hands this fall,” Justin Vaughn and Brandon Rottinghaus, the political scientists behind the survey, wrote in the Los Angeles Times.
Rottinghaus, of the University of Houston, and Vaughn, from Coastal Carolina University, considered responses from 154 scholars, most connected to the American Political Science Association.
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Infrastructure
Joe Biden released a 10-year, $1.3 trillion infrastructure plan as part of his election campaign. He said his plan will move the U.S. to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs to expand the middle class. Some of the facets of the plan were:
- $400 billion for a new federal program for clean energy research and innovation
- $100 billion to modernize schools
- $50 billion on repairing roads, bridges, and highways in his first year in office
- $20 billion on rural broadband infrastructure
- $10 billion for transit projects that serve high-poverty areas with limited transportation options1011
He said his plan will be paid for by "reversing the excesses of the Trump tax cuts for corporations; reducing incentives for tax havens, evasion, and outsourcing; ensuring corporations pay their fair share; closing other loopholes in our tax code that reward wealth, not work; and ending subsidies for fossil fuels."
Taxes
Throughout his campaign, Biden promised that he would limit any tax hikes to people earning above $400,000, and remains committed to his pledge that individuals making under that figure won't have their taxes increased.
Biden proposed to raise the top income tax rate back to 39.6% from 37% and the top corporate income tax rate to 28% from 21%.16 His plans also included taxing capital gains and dividends at ordinary rates for those with annual incomes of more than $1 million and imposing a 15% minimum tax on the book income of large companies. The tax rate on profits earned by foreign subsidiaries of U.S. firms would be doubled to 21%.
According to the Tax Policy Center, Biden's tax proposals could increase revenue by $4 trillion between 2021 and 2030. It is estimated that 93% of the tax increases would be borne by taxpayers in the top 20% of households by income. The top 1% of households would pay three-quarters of the tax hike.
Healthcare
Biden didn't miss an opportunity to mention he was next to former President Obama when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law and vowed to protect and expand it. He said he would eliminate the 400% income cap on tax credit eligibility and lower the limit on the cost of coverage to 8.5% of income.
Instead of the Medicare for All plan suggested by his progressive rivals, Biden said he wanted to create a similar public health insurance option. He also wanted to lower the eligibility age for Medicare to 60 from 65.2122
More than an estimated 97% of Americans are covered under this plan, which is expected to cost $750 billion over a decade.2123 It will be paid for through revenue from his capital gains reform. The cost estimation, however, was provided by the campaign in 2020, before expanding Medicare access to younger people was suggested.
Trade
As he described in his article for Foreign Affairs titled "Why America Must Lead Again," Biden plans to help America's position in the global economy by investing at home in innovation and the middle classes first.27
He promised to do this before entering any new trade agreements. He also said the best way to confront China on intellectual property and technology transfers is by forming a coalition with allies and partners, not through unilateral tariffs.
Jobs and Wages
Biden said he wanted to create millions of middle-class jobs through his infrastructure plan. The plan involved building renewable energy infrastructure, anchor institutions, and climate resiliency industries. It included increasing funding for such programs as the New Markets Tax Credit, the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), and the Economic Development Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.
His plan to help the manufacturing sector included quadrupling funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and providing tax credits for communities that experienced mass layoffs or the closure of a major government institution.3233
Biden also wanted to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 and believes labor leaders should be involved in new trade deal negotiations. Due to the health crisis, he proposed getting all 50 states to adopt short-time compensation programs that are fully and permanently funded by the federal government.11
The plan also included reforms to the temporary visa programs to make sure the government is not disincentivizing recruiting workers from the U.S. Plus, he planned to increase employment-based green cards to 140,000 each year.34
Pew Research Center. "Key Facts About U.S. Immigration Policies and Biden’s Proposed Changes."
Climate Change
Climate change is mentioned in many of his plans, especially infrastructure and trade. But critics say his plan wasn't ambitious enough.
The requirements for his proposed plan include federal spending of $2 trillion over his first term in an attempt to put the U.S. on the path to achieving a 100% clean energy economy with net-zero emissions no later than 2050. Biden said it would be paid for by reversing Trump-era corporate tax cuts and ending subsidies for fossil fuels among other things.
Student Debt
Joe Biden made his student debt plan more generous. His plan includes the immediate cancelation of a minimum of $10,000 of student debt per person, as was originally suggested by Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Biden proposed forgiving all undergraduate, tuition-related federal student debt for low-income and middle-class individuals (earning up to $125,000) who attended public colleges and universities, private historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and private, underfunded minority-serving institutions. This will be funded by repealing the high-income "excess business losses" tax cut in the CARES Act.
As of August 2022, the following changes were enacted by the Biden administration;
- A pause on federal student loan repayment until Dec. 31, 2022, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was first put into place by Trump in March 2020.
- Up to $20,000 in federal student loan cancelation for those with Pell Grants held with the Department of Education and up to $10,000 for those with non-Pell Grants.
- Proposals to change the Public Student Loan Forgiveness program and the repayment program.37
Biden's student loan relief program was blocked on Nov. 11, 2022, following orders from federal courts. The move barred the Department of Education from forgiving any student loan debt. As such, the agency announced it stopped taking any new applications but would hold those that were already submitted.38 On November 22, 2022, the Department of Education extended federally-held student loan forbearance into 2023.39
On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student debt per borrower.40 The three-year forbearance on student loan payments and interest is also set to end this year. Student loans will begin accruing interest starting on Sept. 1, while required payments will be due starting in October.
In a campaign speech, Biden said, "Look at what we’ve been able to get done: 14 million new jobs — more jobs than any president has created in a four-year term; record economic growth — over 5 percent just the last quarter; unemployment under 4 percent for 20 months in a row, another record; the lowest inflation rate of any major economy on Earth; and we have more work to do." Source...
Infrastructure
Trump, who campaigned on the promise of rebuilding America, sought an infrastructure bill. There appeared to be bipartisan support for such a bill. He claimed he wanted a big and bold $2 trillion plan, as part of the next congressional coronavirus relief package.
When asked how the U.S. would fund another massive package, he cited the low borrowing rates. He did not provide details of his plan. His agenda mentioned winning the 5G race and establishing a national high-speed wireless internet network.
Taxes
In the February 2020 budget proposal, the Trump administration assumed the individual income tax provisions included in the massive Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and set to expire in 2025 would be extended. Between 2025 and 2030, these tax cuts would cost the federal government $1.5 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.13
The budget also proposed repealing renewable energy tax credits, offering tax credits for then-education secretary Betsy DeVos' Education Freedom Scholarship program, and raising the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) budget by about $15 billion over a decade.14
Trump's agenda mentioned Made in America tax credits for companies and expanding the Opportunity Zones program to boost investment in economically distressed communities. The former president also called for permanent payroll tax cuts.
Healthcare
In the 2021 budget proposal, the Trump administration proposed deep healthcare spending cuts over the next decade, especially to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act ($1 trillion over ten years) and Medicare ($756 billion over ten years).1819 It requested $94.5 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, a 10% decrease from the 2020 enacted level.20
His agenda, however, mentioned protecting Social Security and Medicare besides lowering healthcare insurance premiums and ending surprise billing. Trump repeatedly promised to bring down drug prices, without significant results.
Trade
The trade war with China was the centerpiece of Trump's trade policy during his first term. He promised to put America first in all dealings with countries and penalize those with the U.S. has a high trade deficit with or he believed are unfairly taxing American companies overseas.
Angering Beijing while the overburdened U.S. healthcare system depends on China for medical supplies was a risk. in 2018, Chinese medical supplies accounted for 48% of all personal protective equipment imports in the U.S.24
The U.S. monthly international trade deficit was $39.9 billion in February 2020, the lowest since September 2016.25 Contributing to this was the impact of COVID-19 on Chinese manufacturing. On an annual basis, the deficit fell for the first time in six years in 2019 to $616.8 billion.
Jobs and Wages
The U.S. economy created 6.6 million jobs during the first three years after Trump took office.28 This was good but not particularly impressive when we look at Labor Department data and consider the state of the economy when he took office. While economic immigration programs became stricter under his tenure, he stopped short of big rule changes like revoking the right of spouses of H-1B visa holders to work.
Millions of jobs were erased amid the COVID-19 crisis and may take a while to return. Trump's idea to spur job creation was through a $2 trillion infrastructure bill. He floated the idea of the government buying four or five years' worth of plane tickets to help the industry with cash. He also put a freeze on new green cards to protect American workers, asking his administration to review guest worker programs. The freeze was initially in place for 60 days until June 2020 and was later extended until Dec. 31, 2020.29
Trump also wanted to boost manufacturing in the U.S. and aimed to bring back one million manufacturing jobs from China. He recommended:
- No federal contracts for companies that outsource to the country
- Tax credits for companies that bring jobs back to the U.S.
- 100% expensing deductions for essential industries that return manufacturing to the U.S.30
Trump said in the past he would like to see some increase in the federal minimum wage but would prefer to leave it up to states. The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute said the National Labor Relations Board under Trump "advanced an anti-worker, anti-union, corporate agenda that has undermined workers’ ability to form unions and engage in collective bargaining."
Climate Change
Trump doesn't believe in climate change and is a strong supporter of the fossil fuels industry. As president, he rolled back environmental rules, planned to lease millions of acres of public land for drilling, and began the long process of exiting the Paris climate agreement. His agenda vaguely mentioned cleaning up our planet's oceans and maintaining access to clean air and drinking water.
Student Debt
The Trump administration's 2021 budget proposal requested $66.6 billion for the Department of Education, a $5.6 billion or 7.8% decrease from 2020. It proposed eliminating the Public Service Loan Forgiveness and subsidized loan programs.35
Trump also intended to replace the four income-driven repayment programs with a single one that capped monthly payments at 12.5%. It forgave undergraduate loans after 15 years instead of 20 years and raised the period for graduate loan repayment to 30 years from 25 years.
Somehow Trump feels that tariffs are a way to punish other countries.
The only thing is We The People have to pay the tariffs and the only purpose they serve is to raise the price that We The People pay for foreign goods. The punishment is that the price paid for their products is higher. So that does not sound like a bad thing for the foreign suppliers that already sold the goods. Who cares what they feel about the tariffs they are paid by We The People of the United States and that's who is punished.
Why not add Duties to US-made goods going to their countries? The manufacturers of the US products would most likely protest that for similar reasons. It is best to have a free trade system si there are as few duties as possible so consumers and manufacturers in both countries get the same advantages and can compete to provide goods at the lowest prices.
Americans’ views of the new tariffs between the United States and some of its trading partners tilt more negative than positive, a new Pew Research Center survey finds. Overall, nearly half (49%) of U.S. adults say increased tariffs between the U.S. and its trading partners will be bad for the country. A smaller share (40%) say the tariffs will be good for the U.S., while 11% say they don’t know how the tariffs will affect the country.
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According to new data just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, guns are the number one killer of children in the United States of America. The number one killer. More than car accidents. More than cancer.
Over the last two decades, more school-aged children have died from guns than on-duty police officers and active-duty military combined. Think about that: more kids than on-duty cops killed by guns, more kids than soldiers killed by guns.
We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. And if we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21. Strengthen background checks. Enact safe storage laws and red-flag laws. Repeal the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability. Address the mental health crisis deepening the trauma of gun violence and as a consequence of that violence.
These are rational, commonsense measures. And here’s what it all means. It all means this: We should reinstate the assault weapons ban and high-capacity magazines that we passed in 1994 with bipartisan support in Congress and the support of law enforcement. Nine categories of semi-automatic weapons were included in that ban, like AK-47s and AR-15s.
And in the 10 years it was law, mass shootings went down. But after Republicans let the law expire in 2004 and those weapons were allowed to be sold again, mass shootings tripled. Those are the facts.
There have always been limitations on what weapons you can own in America. For example, machine guns have been federally regulated for nearly 90 years. And this is still a free country.
This isn’t about taking away anyone’s rights. It’s about protecting children. It’s about protecting families. It’s about protecting whole communities. It’s about protecting our freedoms to go to school, to a grocery store, and to a church without being shot and killed.
In an op-ed Biden wrote, "I have already taken more meaningful executive action to reduce gun violence than any other president, and I will continue to pursue every legal and effective action. But my power is not absolute. Congress must act, including banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring gun owners to securely store their firearms, requiring background checks for all gun sales, and repealing gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability. We also need more governors and state legislators to take these steps."
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President Trump hasn’t just failed to strengthen America’s gun laws in the wake of repeated mass shootings, he’s systematically gutted existing laws in ways that make kids and communities less safe:
Trump illegally narrowed the definition of “fugitive from justice” that’s used to determine who’s barred from buying a gun. For the purpose of the federal background check system for gun sales, the FBI had long interpreted “fugitive from justice” to include anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant. But less than one month into his Presidency, Trump’s DOJ directed the FBI’s background check operators to narrow the definition. The result? More individuals with outstanding arrest warrants, including for dangerous offenses, can now purchase guns.
Donald Trump illegally purged 500,000 records from the federal background check system.
Trump didn’t just narrow the definition of “fugitives from justice”: the Administration also removed all existing records in the federal background check system identifying fugitives who would be prohibited from purchasing guns. When Trump took office, the background check system contained entries for nearly 500,000 people who had been flagged as “fugitives from justice.” They purged all these records, and to date have only restored, about 1,000 entries under the category.
Donald Trump froze a rule that would have prohibited more people who are dangerous because they suffer from severe mental illness from buying guns. Federal law prohibits the sale of a firearm to any person who has been “adjudicated as a mentally defective” or “committed to a mental institution.” Those terms are old and unclear, and as a result, there are gaping loopholes in our gun laws. In 2014, the DOJ proposed a rule to fix this problem and prohibit certain people from buying guns, including those “committed to an outpatient mental institution,” “found incompetent to stand trial…in state, local and military courts,” and “found guilty but mentally ill by a court.” This important change would have kept guns out of the hands of those who are dangerous because of serious mental illness, but the gun lobby opposed the change. So instead of finalizing the rule, President Trump stopped it.
In a 2015 interview with gun magazine AmmoLand, the president said background checks don't need to be expanded — the current system isn't working.
"I do not support expanding background checks. The current background checks do not work," he told the magazine in an interview he promoted on his Twitter page.
After the Parkland shooting, the president pushed for stricter background checks. "Very strong improvement and strengthening of background checks will be fully backed by White House," he tweeted in March 2018. "Legislation moving forward. Bump Stocks will soon be out. Highly trained expert teachers will be allowed to conceal carry, subject to State Law."
But just in February, the president threatened to veto legislation that would have required background checks for most gun purchases or transfers. The legislation, which passed the House, never made it to the Senate floor.
In an op-ed Joe Biden wrote, "The United States is the essential nation. We rally allies and partners to stand up to aggressors and make progress toward a brighter, more peaceful future. The world looks to us to solve the problems of our time. That is the duty of leadership, and America will lead. If we walk away from the challenges of today, the risk of conflict could spread, and the costs to address them will only rise. We will not let that happen." More...
Russia Ukraine
Biden endorses sending military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to aid its fight against Russia, while warning that Western countries cannot allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to achieve victory. To date, the Biden administration has sanctioned Russian individuals and entities and sent $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine since the February 2022 Russian invasion.
Biden said on March 7, 2024, “Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not. But Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking. They are not asking for American soldiers.”
China
Biden said on March 7, 2024, “We have the best economy in the world. And since I've come to office, our GDP is up, our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade and we're standing up against China's unfair economic practices. We're standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. I've revitalized our partnership and alliance in the Pacific. India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Pacific Islands. I made sure that the most advanced American technologies couldn't be used in China, not allowing to trade them there. Frankly, for all this tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that. I want competition with China, not conflict. And we're in a stronger position to win the conflict of the 21st century against China than anyone else, for that matter, than any time as well."
Israel-Palestinians
Biden says Israel has a right to go after Hamas but has warned Israel against killing Palestinian civilians. In March, Biden announced the construction of an offshore port to deliver aid to Gaza.
Biden said in New York on March 9, 2024, “I'm never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical, so there's no red line I'm going to cut off all weapons, so they don't have the Iron Dome to protect them. They don't have ... but there are red lines that if he crosses and they continue … you cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead as a consequence of going after, there are other ways to deal, to get to, to deal with the trauma caused by Hamas.”
Iran
Biden spent more than two years attempting to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the nuclear agreement negotiated by the Obama administration before declaring it “dead.” Last year, the Biden administration negotiated the release of five American hostages in return for unfreezing billions in Iranian assets.
Biden said in Washington on March 7, 2024, "Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran. That's why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. I've ordered strikes to degrade the Houthi capability and defend U.S. forces in the region. As commander in chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and our military personnel."
North Korea
The Biden administration has repeatedly stated it is open to negotiations with North Korea with no preconditions but has yet to offer any incentives in the form of economic assistance to encourage North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to open talks. Biden has met with regional allies and last year announced a new nuclear deterrence agreement, with South Korea, that would allow the U.S. to dock submarines in South Korean ports.
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Somehow Trump feels that tariffs are a way to punish other countries.
The only thing is We The People have to pay the tariffs and the only purpose they serve is to raise the price that We The People pay for foreign goods. The punishment is that the price paid for their products is higher. So that does not sound like a bad thing for the foreign suppliers that already sold the goods. Who cares what they feel about the tariffs they are paid by We The People of the United States and that's who is punished.
Why not add Duties to US-made goods going to their countries? The manufacturers of the US products would most likely protest that for similar reasons. It is best to have a free trade system si there are as few duties as possible so consumers and manufacturers in both countries get the same advantages and can compete to provide goods at the lowest prices.
Americans’ views of the new tariffs between the United States and some of its trading partners tilt more negative than positive, a new Pew Research Center survey finds. Overall, nearly half (49%) of U.S. adults say increased tariffs between the U.S. and its trading partners will be bad for the country. A smaller share (40%) say the tariffs will be good for the U.S., while 11% say they don’t know how the tariffs will affect the country. Read More...
Russia Ukraine
Trump has said NATO countries are not paying their share of aid to Ukraine and claimed the United States has sent more than other countries. At a February rally, Trump said he told an unnamed NATO member that he would encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to any alliance member that does not meet spending guidelines on defense. In a 2023 speech in New Hampshire, Trump said, “Shortly after I win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled.”
Throughout his presidency, Trump faced multiple accusations of collusion with Russia and was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 18, 2019, for charges he leveraged U.S. aid to Ukraine in return for damaging information on potential political rival Joe Biden. Trump denied those charges and was later acquitted by the U.S. Senate.
China
During his presidency, Trump denounced the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party as the most significant foreign policy challenge of this generation. He said China was responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic and penalized China for ending the “one country, two states” policy in Hong Kong. In a May 2020 speech, Trump said, “The United States wants an open and constructive relationship with China, but achieving that relationship requires us to vigorously defend our national interests.”
On his campaign website, Trump said, “To protect our country, we need to enact aggressive new restrictions on Chinese ownership of any vital infrastructure in the United States, including energy, technology, telecommunications, farmland, natural resources, medical supplies, and other strategic national assets. We should stop all future Chinese purchases in these essential industries. And we should begin the process of forcing the Chinese to sell any current holdings that put our national security at risk.”
Israel-Palestinians
Trump released a Middle East peace plan in 2020 calling for a two-state solution that would have given Israel control of a unified Jerusalem and maintained its settlements in the West Bank.
In an interview with the Israel Hayom newspaper on March 25, 2024, Trump said of the current conflict, “What I saw October 7 was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. ... You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You got to get it done. And I am sure you will do that. And we got to get to peace; we can't have this going on. And I will say, Israel has to be very careful, because you're losing a lot of the world, you're losing a lot of support, you have to finish up, you have to get the job done. And you have to get on to peace, to get on to a normal life for Israel.”
Iran
Among Trump’s proudest achievements was the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA. He also authorized the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force — the terrorist branch of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC — a move he called “the boldest action of his presidency.”
North Korea
During his presidency, Trump pursued “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization” of North Korea but eventually developed a good personal relationship with Jong-Un after multiple meetings. His personal diplomacy did not result in any agreements between the two countries.
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Joe Biden and all Democrats will fight to guarantee equal rights for women, including by ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment and at long last enshrining gender equality in the U.S. Constitution. We will take aggressive action to end pay inequality, including increasing penalties against companies that discriminate against women and passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. Democrats are committed to ending sexual assault, domestic abuse, and other violence against women, including the epidemics of violence against Native American women and transgender women of color.
Like the majority of Americans, Joe Biden and all Democrats believe every woman should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion. We oppose and will fight to overturn federal and state laws that create barriers to women’s reproductive health and rights, including repealing the Hyde Amendment and protecting and codifying the right to reproductive freedom. And Democrats will take action to protect the rights of pregnant women in the workplace, including by requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant and breastfeeding workers and those who have recently given birth and at last joining other advanced economies by enacting paid sick days and universal paid family and medical leave.
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In a campaign speech Biden said, "If I have anything to do with it, I’m going to end up signing a law reinstating Roe v. Wade."
Source...
Donald Trump is making it clear: He is loudly claiming credit for the decision to ‘kill Roe v. Wade’ and create a horrifying reality for women across the country living under cruel abortion bans, most of which have no exceptions for rape or incest. Trump is the reason why one-third of American women can’t access reproductive care, and if given the chance, he’ll go even further to rip away basic freedoms from more of us. The American people understand what’s at stake with Trump’s extreme and unpopular anti-choice agenda – and that’s why they will make him a loser once again this November.
Take it from Donald Trump himself – he is demanding credit for the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the ensuing cruel abortion bans across the country.
Trump: “I was proudly the person responsible for the ending of … Roe v. Wade.”
Trump: “After 50 years of failure, with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade … Without me, there would be no 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 15 weeks, or whatever is finally agreed to. Without me, the pro-life movement would have just kept losing. Thank you President TRUMP!!!”
Trump: “For 54 years they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I’m proud to have done it. … Nobody else was going to get that done but I, and we did it, and we did something that was a miracle.”
Trump: “I’m the one that got rid of Roe v. Wade, and everybody said that was an impossible thing to do. I put on three Supreme Court justices. Very few people have had that privilege or honor.”
Trump: “Getting rid of Roe v. Wade was an incredible thing for pro-life because it gave pro-life something to negotiate with. Pro-life had absolutely nothing, being stuck in Roe v. Wade, to negotiate with. … And look, everybody that was president wanted to get rid and tried to get rid of Roe v. Wade … For fifty years, this has been going on. I was able to do it, and I was very honored to do it.”
Rolling Stone: “Trump Claims Credit for All Abortion Bans”
Business Insider: “Trump boasts he’s ‘proud’ about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, the issue that has become ballot-box poison for Republicans”
Rolling Stone: “Trump Says He’s ‘Proud’ to Have ‘Terminated’ Abortion Rights”
Trump campaign radio ad: “And Trump nominated conservative judges, leading to Roe v. Wade being overturned.”
FWIW: “This week, we found more evidence that the Trump campaign has no interest in ‘moderating’ on the issue of abortion. On Monday, his team began running new Facebook video ads targeting voters in Iowa, referring to Trump as ‘THE MOST Pro-Life President in history.’”
Let’s not forget: Trump said he would sign a national abortion ban if elected to a second term.
Associated Press: “Trump says he will support a national ban on abortions around 15 weeks of pregnancy”
Trump: “There of course remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life. And it’s very important.”
Trump on if he would sign a six-week national abortion ban: “I’m looking at all options.”
Trump: “We’ll pick something that’s going to be very, very good for pro-life … I’m going to be in there pushing.”
Rolling Stone: “Trump Wants to Ban Abortion Nationwide: Report”
New York Times: “Trump Privately Expresses Support for a 16-Week Abortion Ban”
Rolling Stone: “Trump Floats National Abortion Ban After Claiming He’s ‘On the Side of Women’”
Trump also backed a national abortion ban during his first term and said women should be punished for getting an abortion.
The Hill: “The Trump administration formally backed a House bill Monday that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. … It would make it a crime to perform or attempt an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with the possibility of a fine, up to five years in prison or both.”
Trump: “There has to be some form of punishment [for women who have an abortion].”
Here are just some of Trump’s cruel abortion bans that women are forced to suffer under across America – most of which have no exceptions for rape or incest:
Alabama: “Abortions became almost entirely illegal in Alabama on June 24. A 2019 state abortion ban took effect making it a felony to perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.”
Arizona: “Arizona court weighs 1864 abortion ban that risks ‘conditions of misery’”
Arkansas: “Arkansas bans nearly all abortions after Roe v. Wade overturned”
Florida: “Florida’s new restrictions will chip away at the little abortion access left in the South”
Georgia: “Georgia abortion ban remains in effect after state Supreme Court ruling”
Kentucky: “Abortion is banned in almost all circumstances.”
Louisiana: “Louisiana abortion ban preserved after lawmakers kill bill to call public vote”
Missouri: “Republicans block attempt to add rape, incest exemptions to Missouri’s abortion ban”
North Carolina: “North Carolina’s abortion law may make traveling to end a pregnancy impossible for some in the South”
North Dakota: “North Dakota court keeps strict abortion ban in place even in cases of medical emergencies”
Oklahoma: “Abortion is banned in almost all circumstances.”
South Carolina: “South Carolina’s new all-male highest court reverses course on abortion, upholding strict 6-week ban”
South Dakota: “Abortions now illegal in South Dakota following Supreme Court’s ruling”
Tennessee: “Amid uncertainty and anger, Tennessee’s abortion ban takes effect”
Texas: “Texas passes law banning abortion after six weeks”
Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Republicans approve a bill banning abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy”
North Dakota: “North Dakota governor signs law banning nearly all abortions”
Trump and MAGA Republicans’ extreme anti-abortion agenda is overwhelmingly unpopular with voters.
USA Today: “Americans overwhelmingly oppose the next goal of many anti-abortion activists, to enact a federal law banning abortion nationwide. By 80%-14%, those surveyed opposed that idea, including 65% of Republicans and 83% of independents.”
Axios: “Most Americans support abortion access one year after Roe v. Wade: poll”
CNN: “A 64% majority of US adults say they disapprove of last year’s Supreme Court ruling that women do not have a constitutional right to an abortion, with half strongly disapproving – an assessment that’s almost entirely unchanged from CNN’s poll last July in the immediate wake of the decision.”
Trump's campaign website said, "He confirmed three strong Constitutionalists to the United States Supreme Court who will ensure the law is upheld equally, fairly, and without political prejudice for all of our citizens. President Trump’s three appointees delivered the biggest win for life in a generation in overturning Roe v. Wade." Source...
The Democratic Party's policies on immigration are centered around creating a more inclusive and humane immigration system. The GOP this views it as harmful and establishes a 21st-century immigration system that reflects American values, enhances the economy, and promotes global competitiveness. Democrats place greater importance on paths to legal status for those who entered the country illegally – especially those who entered as children, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans (80 percent vs. 37 percent) to say that establishing a way for most immigrants currently in the country illegally to stay in the U.S. legally is an important goal for the nation’s immigration system. About four in ten Democrats (38%) view this as a very important goal, compared with 10% of Republicans.
Among Democrats, conservatives and moderates are more likely than liberals to say more restrictive goals are very or somewhat important to U.S. immigration policy. Seven in ten conservative and moderate Democrats say increasing border security should be a very or somewhat important goal, compared with 44% of liberal Democrats. Conservative and moderate Democrats are also twice as likely as liberal Democrats (50% vs. 25%) to say increasing deportations should be an important goal.
Liberal Democrats are the most supportive of creating a way for most undocumented immigrants to stay in the country legally: 85% say this should be an important goal, including 44% who say it should be very important. Three-quarters of conservative and moderate Democrats see this as an important goal, including 32% who see it as very important. Among Republicans, half of moderates and liberals say a path to legal status should be an important goal, while only about three in ten conservatives (28%) say the same.
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Key points include:
- Protection of Dreamers: Reinstating and expanding protections for Dreamers and parents of American citizens.
- Protecting asylum: Protecting and expanding the asylum system, including for victims of gang and domestic violence, as well as LGBTQ+ individuals.
- Stop the wealth test: Halting the enforcement of the Trump administration's immigrant wealth test.
- Pathways to citizenship: Providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, particularly those essential to the pandemic response.
- Support family-based immigration: Reversing policies that slash family-based immigration and visa programs like H-1B.
- Prioritize family reunification: Prioritizing family reunification and reforming the system to speed up visas.
- Expand visa opportunities: for victims of human trafficking and those with Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure.
- Promote workers' rights: Promoting workers' rights and holding employers accountable for abuses against immigrant workers.
- Make immigration courts more independent: Making immigration courts more independent and ensuring that immigration enforcement personnel are professional and accountable.
- Increase opportunities for legal immigration: Increasing opportunities for legal, permanent immigration and improving the green card process.
- Help immigrants become citizens: Supporting programs that help immigrants become full and equal citizens, including funding for immigrant inclusion services, legal support, English classes, and workforce development.
- Address the root causes of migration: Addressing the root causes of migration, such as violence, poverty, corruption, and climate change, through comprehensive strategies and international partnerships.
These policies are designed to strengthen communities, the economy, and ensure that the United States remains a welcoming country for immigrants.
Asylum
During his successful White House bid, Mr Biden campaigned against Mr Trump's restrictive asylum policies, particularly the "transit ban" that forbade migrants from applying for asylum unless they first applied before they reached the US border.
Faced with mounting criticism, however, the Biden administration and Democratic allies have suggested asylum provisions similar to Mr Trump's.
A stalled bipartisan border bill, for example, would have tightened asylum restrictions and created daily limits on border crossings. Once that cap was reached, asylum seekers would have been turned away.
Parole
Joe Biden has made more use of immigration “parole” than any American president to bypass an uncooperative Congress, but he’s hardly the first.
The presidential power has been a centerpiece of Biden’s strategy to channel immigrants through new and expanded legal pathways and discourage illegal crossings, a radical difference from his rival Donald Trump.
Biden granted at least 1 million temporary visits, which generally include eligibility to work. Trump has said during his campaign to return to the White House that he would end the “outrageous abuse of parole.”
Deportations
When President Biden took office, there was a change of tone and of policy from Mr Trump's administration when it came to deportation, leading to a sharp decline in the number of people being removed from the US.
Additionally, the Biden administration swiftly moved to end the arrest and deportation of migrants in the US interior, a sharp departure from the Trump administration's practices.
Border Walls
Joe Biden vowed to not build "another foot of wall" when he took office. That did not work out as expected and there has been some new border wall construction in Texas. Mr Biden said he "had no choice" because funding for the construction was signed off on while Mr Trump was president.
"I tried to get them to redirect that money. They didn't, they wouldn't," Mr Biden said. "I can't stop that."
Family Separations
Soon after taking office, Mr Biden moved to end the separations, which he said were reflective of "the moral and national shame" of Mr Trump's administration.
The Biden administration announced a settlement last October in which family members separated under the previous administration will be given temporary legal and other benefits.
The settlement also bans family separations from taking place in the future.
In his speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin, he struck a similarly foreboding tone, describing the 2024 election as the nation's "final battle."
While speaking of Laken Riley - a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant in the country illegally - Trump said some immigrants were sub-human.
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These policies have hurt all of us. President Trump has done everything in his power to subject more than one million DACA recipients and TPS holders to deportation, including hundreds of thousands of essential frontline workers helping our communities survive the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He has separated children from their mothers and fathers, both at the border and across the country, inflicting far-reaching trauma to children and families and harming communities. He has blocked millions of individuals from coming to the U.S. through existing immigration channels, undercutting our nation’s ability to respond to and recover from the ongoing public health and economic crisis. Throughout, the Trump Administration has relentlessly scapegoated immigrants for the challenges our country faces.
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Former president Donald Trump said immigrants coming to the U.S. are “poisoning the blood of our country,” a remark on Saturday that quickly drew a rebuke from his chief Democratic rival as President Joe Biden’s campaign likened the words to those of Adolf Hitler.
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Donald Trump issued an executive order temporarily banning immigration from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan. This came two days after signing an executive order for the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border.
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The whole Republican Party's policies on immigration are centered around reducing the number of immigrants allowed into or living in the United States. Republicans place particular importance on border security and deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally.
About nine in ten Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (91%) call increasing security along the U.S.-Mexico border an important goal, including 72% who say it should be a very important goal, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
About eight in ten Republicans (79%) say increasing deportations of immigrants currently in the country illegally is important, with nearly half (49%) calling it very important. By comparison, 39% of Democrats view increasing deportations as very or somewhat important, including just 12% who see it as very important.
Conservative Republicans are the most likely to express strong support for more restrictive immigration goals such as increased border security and increased deportations, even when compared with others in their party. Liberal Democrats, by contrast, are the least supportive of these restrictive goals while being the most supportive of establishing a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants in the country.
Around eight in ten conservative Republicans (82%) say increased border security should be a very important goal for U.S. immigration policy; about half of moderates and liberals in the GOP (54%) say the same.
The Republican policies on immigration, as stated in their 2016 platform, include the following key focuses on ways of limiting the population and workforce to only American workers.:
- Protection of American Workers: The GOP aims to ensure that the immigration system benefits American workers and the economy.
- Rule of Law: Republicans emphasize the importance of upholding and enforcing immigration laws.
- Border Security: The party calls for the construction of a wall along the southern border and the protection of all ports of entry to prevent illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and human smuggling.
- Workplace Enforcement: Support for workplace verification systems, such as E-Verify, to ensure that jobs are available to legal workers.
- Opposition to Amnesty: Republicans oppose any form of amnesty for those who have broken immigration laws.
- State Legislation: The GOP supports the right of states to enact laws to deter illegal immigration and to reinforce federal law.
- Refugee Vetting: They propose that refugees who cannot be thoroughly vetted—especially from regions associated with terrorism—should not be admitted.
- Reforming the Treaty System: An intention to restore the treaty system specified by the Constitution, with special scrutiny for individuals from terror-sponsoring countries.
- National Security: The GOP stresses the application of special scrutiny to foreign nationals seeking to enter the U.S. from regions associated with Islamic terrorism.
These points reflect the Republican commitment to accomplish their goal of limiting the workforce to only American workers. Generally, immigrants don't limit Americans in the job market. Many times the jobs immigrants perform are jobs that are unwanted by people who can get better-paying jobs. There is plenty of work for everyone. The number of available jobs is currently 8.8 million according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Asylum
Donald Trump has always been against Asylum. In June 2018, the Department of Justice implemented a policy to deny that lack of protection from gender-based violence or gang violence was a lawful basis for claiming asylum, overturning a 2016 Board of Immigration Appeals precedent. In his opinion, Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote, "Generally, claims by aliens about domestic violence or gang violence perpetrated by nongovernmental actors will not qualify for asylum."
Parole
Donald Trump does not want to grant parole to Migrants who don't have a visa, or can't qualify for one. He does not want Migrants for any reason and has vowed to deport millions of people.
Deportations
Mr Trump, for his part, has vowed to carry out the "largest deportation operation" in US history to remove undocumented migrants already in the country if he returns to the White House.
Border Walls
Building a border wall was a signature policy of Donald Trump as president and was fiercely opposed by Democrats, including Mr Biden. Donald Trump has continued to tout the construction of border walls at campaign rallies across the US.
Family Separations
Thousands of migrant children were separated from their families as part of the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" approach at the border. Mr Trump has hinted that he would take the approach again if re-elected. In November, for example, he told Spanish-language news channel Univision that it had served as a deterrent and "stopped people from coming by the hundreds of thousands."
Under the President and Vice President’s leadership, more Americans have health insurance than ever before, with a record-breaking 21 million Americans signing up for ACA coverage this year—9 million more than when they took office. The President and Vice President have fought to protect and strengthen the ACA and Medicaid with critical healthcare protections, like free preventative care and guaranteed coverage regardless of health status or gender.
President Biden and Vice President Harris have also made health care under the ACA more affordable than ever, saving millions of Americans an average of $800 per year on health insurance premiums. And after decades of failed attempts, and without a single Republican vote in Congress, President Biden beat Big Pharma by passing the Inflation Reduction Act—which for the first time in history is giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug costs, capping insulin at $35 per a month per prescription for seniors and people with disabilities, and capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare enrollees at $2,000 a year starting in 2025.
The President and Vice President are not done lowering healthcare costs and improving health care for the American people. They want to build on the progress they have made to further lower prescription drug costs and health insurance premiums; expand access to care, especially mental health care; and protect Americans from getting ripped off by corporations. While Republican officials try to rip Americans’ health care away, President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting to:
- Lower Health Insurance Premiums Permanently. Make permanent the expanded premium tax credits that were last extended by the Inflation Reduction Act so millions of Americans do not see their net health insurance premiums spike by hundreds or thousands of dollars starting in 2026.
- Close the Coverage Gap. Provide Medicaid-like coverage to people in the 10 states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion.
- Keep Kids Covered. Provide States the option to avoid children losing coverage due to red tape from birth through age 6, and cut red tape for families on Medicaid.
- Make Home Care More Available. Invest billions more in-home care so the hundreds of thousands of older adults and individuals with disabilities on Medicaid home care waiting lists get the care they need in their homes.
- Ensure Access to Mental Health Care. Increase access to mental health care by expanding coverage in Medicare and private insurance, applying the mental health parity requirements to Medicare beneficiaries, and extending Medicare incentive programs to address mental health provider shortages.
- Prevent More Surprise Medical Bills. Protect consumers by applying surprise billing protections to ground ambulance providers so people do not have to worry about an unexpected bill for their ambulance ride.
- Crack Down on Junk Facility Fees. Eliminate unwarranted “facility” fees on telemedicine and other outpatient health care services for consumers.
- Let Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices for at least 50 Drugs Every Year. Expand the number of drugs Medicare can negotiate from 20 to at least 50 per year, cutting prices for major drugs that seniors rely on, like those used to treat heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Alongside other reforms, this will reduce the deficit by an additional $200 billion over the next ten years.
- Cap Out-of-Pocket Prescription Drug Costs for Everyone. Expand the $2,000 out-of-pocket prescription drug cap to people with private insurance so that all Americans have the peace of mind that comes with not being forced to choose between filling their prescription or putting food on the table.
- Cap Medicare Cost-Sharing at $2 for Common Generic Drugs. Establish a new permanent Medicare benefit limiting monthly Medicare Part D cost-sharing for certain high-value generic drugs to $2, such as for those used to treat hypertension and high cholesterol.
- Protect and Strengthen Medicare for Generations. The President will block Republican efforts to dismantle Medicare and instead will extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund for generations by making the wealthy pay their fair share toward Medicare and dedicating savings from Medicare prescription drug reforms to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.
For years, Republican elected officials—including the previous Administration—have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which gives millions of Americans access to quality, affordable health coverage. Just last week, House Republicans released another extreme budget that would rip coverage away from millions of Americans while doing Big Pharma’s bidding to drive up prescription drug costs.
The budget from the Republican Study Committee—which represents 100% of House Republican leadership and 80% of House Republicans—would:
- Slash $4.5 trillion from the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. These devastating cuts would take health care away from millions of Americans.
- Ripping away coverage for more than 45 million people enrolled in ACA coverage and Medicaid expansion. The Republican budget completely strips funding from the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace and Medicaid expansion—programs that cover 45 million people.
- Turning Medicaid into block grants would threaten coverage and care for an additional over 60 million Americans with Medicaid. States would be forced to make it harder to qualify and enroll in coverage, cut critical benefits, or both, threatening coverage for millions of children and families.
- Threatening care for seniors and people with disabilities. Over seven million seniors and people with disabilities relying on Medicaid home care services could see it cut or taken away altogether, with ballooning wait lists for those who still need care. Hundreds of thousands of nursing home residents would be at risk of lower-quality care if Medicaid had to cut nursing home payments.
- Eliminate critical consumer protections. Millions of consumers are protected from insurance company abuses by the ACA, but the Republican budget sides with insurance companies to roll back these critical protections.
- Over 100 million people with pre-existing conditions could be denied or charged more for coverage.
- Older adults could face higher premiums. Health insurance premiums would skyrocket, especially for people in their 50s and 60s.
- Insurance companies would be allowed to rip off Americans with junk insurance products. The Republican budget promotes the sale of junk insurance products, which can scam consumers and leave on them on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in expenses.
- Slash Medicare by turning it into a “premium support” program. In contrast with the President’s plan to protect and strengthen Medicare by lowering drug prices and making the wealthy pay their fair share, the House Republican budget would convert Medicare to a “premium support” program that would raise premiums for millions of seniors.
- Raise prescription drug prices for seniors and give massive handouts to Big Pharma. The Republican Budget would side with Big Pharma to increase drug prices and seniors’ out-of-pocket costs by repealing the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Medicare would no longer be able to negotiate lower drug prices. Big Pharma would once again be allowed to set whatever price they want, leaving seniors and taxpayers on the hook and facing higher prices.
- Big Pharma would no longer pay Medicare back when they increase drug prices faster than inflation, allowing them to jack up prices with no accountability.
- Seniors would go back to paying up to $400 for insulin, instead of the $35 price cap per monthly insulin prescription they have today.
- Seniors would face higher costs if the $2,000 out-of-pocket cap on drug costs is eliminated.
If Republican elected officials get their way, these proposals would become the law of the land and Americans would pay the price.
Joseph R. Biden is a well-adjusted adult and a family man who shows empathy and sympathy for others. He was an Explorer Scout. The former US Senator and VP sincerely believes he is acting in the best interests of America.
Upgrading our ports, bridges, railroads, and other critical infrastructure. Reducing drug prices for seniors. Getting serious about global warming and the necessity for green energy. Putting the U.S. back in the game on manufacturing, batteries, and microchip production.
And he's done this while trying to govern a country that sometimes feels as divided as North and South Korea. Even inflation – which Biden stoked by overheating the economy with his COVID relief bill – is easing. The mess at our southern border has been thoroughly botched by Congress which shares the blame for failing year after year to enact meaningful immigration reform.
So Biden’s accomplishments are considerable. Add to that the fact that he is such a genuinely nice person. Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina spoke for many when he said you wouldn’t meet a nicer guy than Joe Biden
Biden has accomplished a lot and he is a nice guy
It’s not that the president has failed at his job. On the contrary, history may determine that he was the only person able to save our fragile democracy in 2020. And his accomplishments have been considerable.
Donald Trump is a mess and has proved over and over that he is unable to serve as a leader of other people. He is untrustworthy and does not have the temperament or empathy to serve the citizens of the US or any other person or group of people.
Donald Trump receives generally negative ratings from the public across a range of personal traits and characteristics. Just 24% of Americans say Trump is even-tempered, while nearly three times as many (70%) say that description does not apply to him. Fewer than half say that Trump is a strong leader (43%), well-informed (38%), empathetic (36%) or trustworthy (34%).
Opinions are more divided over whether Trump keeps his promises or can get things done. A large majority (68%) – including about half of Democrats – says Trump is “someone who stands up for what he believes in.”
The latest national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted Sept. 18-24 among 1,754 adults, finds that Trump gets lower ratings than his predecessors in recent midterm years – Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton – for being trustworthy, empathetic, and well-informed. However, Trump fares comparatively well in public perceptions of his ability to get things done. Read More...
Multiple Congressional investigations, including a Special Counsel report, revealed no wrongdoing, with no criminal charges.
Former POTUS Donald J Trump is currently facing 88 charges in four different Indictments.
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Georgia vs Trump - Election Interference
New York vs Trump - Hush Money
The United States vs Donald J Trump - Classified Documents
The United States vs Donald J Trump - Election Interference
We have all seen the evidence with our own eyes. From the audio of phone calls between former president Trump and
Have a look at what President Biden and Vice President Harris have been working on since they came into office.
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Read about President Bidens Executive orders.
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Two years ago, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – a once-in-a-generation investment in America’s infrastructure and competitiveness. Since then, the Biden-Harris Administration has been breaking ground on projects to rebuild our roads and bridges, deliver clean and safe water, clean up legacy pollution, expand access to high-speed internet, and build a clean energy economy. Through his Investing in America agenda, a core pillar of Bidenomics, President Biden is delivering an “Infrastructure Decade” that is unlocking access to economic opportunity, creating good-paying jobs, boosting domestic manufacturing, and growing America’s economy from the middle up and bottom out – not the top-down.
To date, the Administration has announced nearly $400 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, including over 40,000 specific projects and awards, across over 4,500 communities in all 50 states, D.C. territories, and for Tribes. This comes as House Republicans are turning their backs on American infrastructure – trying to slash funding that would make our transportation safer, more reliable, and more convenient.
Implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a key piece of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which has helped drive over 614 billion dollars in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States since President Biden took office. These investments are creating millions of good-paying jobs, including a record-high number of jobs in the construction sector.
Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Administration has already:
- Enabled more than 21 million low-income households to access free or discounted high-speed internet service through the Affordable Connectivity Program;
- Started improvements on 135,800 miles of roads and launched over 7,800 bridge repair projects, increasing safety and reconnecting communities across the country;
- Provided funding to deploy over 2,900 low-and zero-emission American-made transit buses, doubling their number on America’s roadways, and funded approximately 2,400 clean school buses;
- Delivered funding for 445 port and waterway projects to strengthen supply chains, speed up the movement of goods, lower costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- Deployed investments in over 190 airport terminal projects to modernize and expand terminals—18 of which are under construction and 8 more that are complete;
- Launched seven world-class Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs with $50 billion of public and private sector investment, a historic leap forward in growing the clean energy economy across the nation;
- Launched over 2,300 projects to help communities build resilience to threats such as the impacts of climate change and cyber-attacks;
- Financed over 1,200 drinking water and wastewater projects across the country, including projects that will replace hundreds of thousands of lead service lines;
- Removed hazardous fuel material from 8.7 million acres of land through the Infrastructure Law and other sources to protect communities from wildfires;
- Funded nearly 400 projects for water recycling, storage, conservation, desalination, and other purposes to improve drought resilience across the West;
- Provided funding to over 100 states, tribes, and territories and launched over 60 projects to improve the resilience and reliability of America’s electric grid and deliver cheaper and cleaner electricity—representing the largest single investment in electric transmission and distribution infrastructure in the history of the United States;
- Plugged over 6,000 orphaned oil and gas wells to address legacy pollution; and
- Awarded funding to 70 previously unfunded Superfund projects, clearing a longstanding backlog of projects to clean up contaminated sites and advance environmental justice.
The Biden-Harris Administration has made notable progress in implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law across key sectors:
- Roads & Bridges: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests over $300 billion in repairing and rebuilding America’s roads and bridges – the largest investment since President Eisenhower’s investment in the interstate highway system.
- Rail: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $66 billion for rail, the largest investment in passenger rail since the inception of Amtrak and an unprecedented investment in rail safety. Since President Biden took office,
- Airports: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $25 billion to modernize and upgrade airports and air traffic facilities nationwide, improving passenger experience through expanding capacity, increasing accessibility, and reducing delays.
- Ports and Waterways: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $17 billion to upgrade our nation’s ports and waterways.
- Transit and School Buses: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes the largest investment in public transit ever, at nearly $90 billion – including billions to electrify or upgrade our bus, transit rail, and ferry fleets.
- Electric Vehicle Charging, EV Batteries & Critical Materials: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes the largest federal investment in EV charging with $7.5 billion in available funding.
- Clean Water: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests over $50 billion for the largest upgrade to the nation’s water infrastructure in history. This funding places us on a path to replace 100% of lead service lines in America and works to close the wastewater gap for 2 million people who lack basic sanitation.
- High-Speed Internet: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $65 billion to help ensure that every American has access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet—regardless of their income, race, religion, or zip code.
- Modernizing the Grid and Deploying Clean Energy: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes more than $62 billion in funding at the Department of Energy to advance our clean energy future by investing in clean energy demonstration and deployment projects, developing new technologies, and modernizing our power grid.
- Superfunds and Brownfields Cleanup: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests over $5 billion in Superfund sites and Brownfield projects to restore the health and economic vitality of communities that have been exposed to legacy pollution for far too long.
- Orphaned Wells and Abandoned Mine Lands: Orphaned oil and gas wells and abandoned coal mines left behind by industry continue to pollute millions of Americans’ air and water with methane and hazardous waste.
- Resilience: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests over $50 billion in an “all hazards” approach to protect our infrastructure and communities from physical, climate, and cybersecurity-related threats.
President Biden is committed to rebuilding the infrastructure of the entire country, leaving no community behind as we do so:
- Helping Non-Federal Partners Unlock Funding Opportunities: States and territories have appointed over 50 Infrastructure Coordinators to facilitate clear communication, collaboration, and communication with the federal government and ensure that all communities can access federal funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
- Investing in Rural America: Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris Administration is making record investments in our rural infrastructure to ensure that rural Americans have every opportunity to succeed and that no one has to leave home to find economic opportunity.
- Delivering for Tribal Communities: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides more than $13 billion directly to Tribal communities and makes Tribes eligible to apply for or request billions in additional funding. In total, this funding represents the single largest investment in Tribal infrastructure ever.
- Advancing Environmental Justice: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering clean air, clean water, and equitable access to opportunity for disadvantaged communities that have been overburdened by pollution and marginalized by underinvestment for far too long.
- Economic Development for Distressed Communities: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law roughly doubled the amount of funding available to six regional commissions over five years.
- Lowering Costs for Families: Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris Administration is lowering everyday costs for the American people.
Highlights
- Donald Trump broke his campaign promise to make infrastructure a legislative priority.
- Trump claimed he was the only one who could fix America’s infrastructure.
- Trump’s infrastructure proposals failed to gain traction.
- The Trump administration declared seven failed “infrastructure weeks.”
- Donald Trump broke his campaign promise to invest $1 trillion into American infrastructure.
- In his first term, Trump’s budget proposals hurt infrastructure funding.
- In 2018, the fiscal year budget cast doubt on Trump’s promise on infrastructure by cutting funding.
- In 2019, according to Trump administration officials, the fiscal year budget included a “$1.5 trillion” investment in infrastructure, but only $200 billion in “new” federal funding, shifting the cost to states and private entities.
- In 2020, the fiscal year budget failed to adequately address America’s decrepit infrastructure.
- Trump backed off his campaign promise that the private sector would help pay for an infrastructure package.
- Skepticism of Trump’s infrastructure plan contributed to declining U.S. growth.
- In his first term, Trump’s budget proposals hurt infrastructure funding.
- Under Donald Trump, the state of America’s infrastructure did not improve.
- The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s infrastructure a D+ grade.
- Trump failed to improve airport infrastructure.
- Airports had more than $128 billion in infrastructure needs.
- Trump proposed privatizing air traffic control, but critics said Trump’s proposal could make flying less safe.
- The American Road and Transportation Builders Association said 47,000 bridges were “structurally deficient” and the pace of bridge repair slowed under Trump.
- The rate of repair on America’s bridges slowed to the lowest point in five years.
- Trump campaigned on repairing the Brent Space Bridge, but failed to get it done.
- America’s water infrastructure received a D grade, with Trump’s funding cuts further limiting access to clean water.
- Trump froze EPA grants that funded water infrastructure programs.
- Under Trump, neglected highways and roadways continued to pose an increasing safety risk.
- Experts stated that delays in infrastructure improvements contributed to fatality rates.
- Trump campaigned on expanding broadband, but as president, he failed to improve rural access.
- Trump claimed his infrastructure plan would include expanded access to broadband.
- Thirty-nine percent of rural Americans, 23 million people, did not have access to high-speed internet.
- Trump signed two executive orders that fell short when it came to getting rural Americans online.
- Trump administration deregulations and initiatives made it easier for broadband providers to charge consumers more and subsidized monopolies in rural areas.
- Donald Trump broke his promise to make Infrastructure a legislative priority. He claimed he was the only one who could fix America's infrastructure:
Trump: America’s Infrastructure Problem Can Be Fixed “Only By Me.” - In His 2018 State Of The Union, Trump Asked “Both Parties To Come Together” To “Build Gleaming New Roads, Bridges, Highways.”
- Trump infrastructure proposals failed to gain traction:
- April 2019: The Trump Administration Had Already Declared Seven Failed “Infrastructure Weeks.”
- Trump Turned Down The Opportunity To Develop A Bipartisan $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan
- April 2019: Democrats Met With Trump To Develop A Bipartisan $2 Trillion Infrastructure Agreement, Stating The Legislations Was “Big And Bold.”
- May 2019: Trump Abruptly canceled a Meeting With Democratic Congressional Leaders On The Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan Stating That He Would Not Work With Them Until Their “Phony Investigations” Were Over.
- Trump Broke His Campaign Promise To Invest $1 Trillion Into American Infrastructure
- October 2016: Trump Campaign Advisers Peter Navarro And Wilbur Ross Drew Up An Infrastructure Plan That Would Finance $1 Trillion In Spending.
- IN HIS FIRST TERM, TRUMP’S BUDGET PROPOSALS HURT INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING
- 2018: The Fiscal Year Budget Cast Doubt On Trump’s Promise On Infrastructure By Cutting Funding
- Trump’s $1 Trillion Plan To Rebuild American Infrastructure Was Undermined By Trump Budget Proposal’s $55 Billion Cut to Infrastructure Spending.
- Trump’s 2018 Infrastructure Plan Called For A $1.5 Trillion Boost To Infrastructure Spending, But Proposed Just $200 Billion In Federal Funding.
- Trump’s FY 2018 Budget Proposal Cut The Department Of Transportation’s Budget By $2.4 Billion Or 13%, Wiping Out Resources For New Transit Projects.
- The Budget Terminated Funding For Amtrak’s Long-Haul Services, Cut A Program That Provided Grants For Rural Airports, And Called For A Limit To Federal Funding For An Infrastructure Grant Program.
- Trump’s 2019 Budget Cut Annual Federal Support For Infrastructure And Shifted Costs To States, Cities, And Private Individuals.
- Trump’s Budget Saw Cuts To Core Infrastructure Funding Including $164 Billion In Cuts To The Highway Trust Fund And TIGER Grants.
- Trump Promised To Invest $200 Billion In Infrastructure, But In His 2020 Budget Proposal He Cut Army Corp Of Engineers By 22%, Transportation By 20%, And Interior Department By Nearly 10%.
- TRUMP BACKED OFF OF HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISE THAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR WOULD HELP PAY FOR AN INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE
- Trump Campaigned On Private Sector Funding To Pay For Infrastructure Improvements
- Trump Campaigned On Private Sector Funding To Finance Infrastructure Improvements.
- September 26, 2017: Trump Said He Would Abandon Private Financing As A Strategy.
- SKEPTICISM OF TRUMP’S INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN CONTRIBUTED TO DECLINING U.S GROWTH
- The IMF Reduced Forecast For U.S. Growth Due To The Trump Administration’s Inaction On Infrastructure
- The International Monetary Fund Reduced Its Forecast For U.S. Growth
- TRUMP FAILED TO IMPROVE AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
- Airports Council International Stated That American Airports Required More Than $128 Billion In New Infrastructure Needs Between 2019 And 2023. According to the Airports Council International, “With America’s airports facing more than $128 billion in new infrastructure needs across the system and a debt burden of $91.6 billion from past projects, it is time to find the means to rebuild our nation’s aviation infrastructure and improve the passenger experience for millions of travelers.
- The Existing Funding System Failed To Meet U.S. Airport Infrastructure Needs For Modernizing And Expanding Airport Capacity. According to the Airports Council International, “The infrastructure development cost estimate for 2019-2023 shows an increase of 34.0 percent from the estimate for 2017-2021 for large, medium, and small hub airports combined, and a 4.3 percent increase for non-hubs and non-commercial service airports.
- As Part Of Infrastructure Week, Trump Released A Plan To Privatize Air Traffic Control. According to NBC News, “But the president’s endorsement of a proposal to privatize air traffic control by detaching it from the FAA — announced in June 2017 as part of a larger week of infrastructure-related events at the White House — has been stalled since day one.
- Chris Elliot, Consumer Airline Advocate, Said Trump’s “Efforts To Deregulate These Federal Agencies Like The FAA Might Create Less Safe Airlines.” According to NBC News, “‘I haven’t seen any evidence that the White House has done anything to improve airline safety or get strict with airline safety,’ consumer airline advocate Chris Elliott told NBC News, noting that previous years were safe, too.
- THE AMERICAN ROAD AND TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS ASSOCIATION: 47,000 BRIDGES WERE “STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT” AND THE PACE OF BRIDGE REPAIR SLOWED UNDER TRUMP
- The American Road And Transportation Builders Association’s 2019 Bridge Report Stated That 47,000 Bridges Are “Structurally Deficient.”
- 19.4% Of Iowa’s Bridges Need Repair And The Total Number Amounts To 4,675.
- Pennsylvania Had 3,770 Bridges In Need Of Attention, 16.6% Of The Total.
- The Rate Of Repair On America’s Bridges Slowed To The Lowest Point In Five Years
- In 2018, The Pace Of Repair On America’s Bridges Slowed To The Lowest Point In Five Years.
- Trump Campaigned On Repairing The Brent Spence Bridge, But Failed To Get It Done
- In 2016, Trump Ran On The Promise To Build A Replacement For The Brent Spence, A Decaying Bridge Across The Ohio River.
- The Trump Administration Did Nothing About The Brent Spence Bridge During Trump’s Entire Term.
- AMERICA’S WATER INFRASTRUCTURE RECEIVED A D GRADE, WITH TRUMP’S FUNDING CUTS FURTHER LIMITING ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER
- Trump Froze EPA Grants That Funded Water Infrastructure Programs
- January 25, 2017: Trump Froze EPA Grants That Stated Relied On For Water Infrastructure Program.
- Trump Proposed Virtually Eliminating Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding
- Trump Proposed Cutting All But $10 Million From Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding, Which Financed Infrastructure Upgrades To Provide Safe Drinking Water.
- 2020: The EPA Made It Easier For Cities To Dump Raw Sewage Into Rivers By Letting Them Delay Federally Imposed Fixes To Their Infrastructure
- The EPA Allowed Cities To Delay Or Change Federally Imposed Fixes To Their Sewer Systems And Infrastructure That They Deemed Too Costly.
- UNDER TRUMP, NEGLECTED HIGHWAYS AND ROADWAYS CONTINUED TO POSE AN INCREASING SAFETY RISK
- As Of 2018, One-Third Of The Nation’s Major Urban Roadways Are In Poor Condition.
- Experts Stated That Delays In Infrastructure Improvements Contributed To Fatality Rates
- Experts Stated That Delays In Infrastructure Improvements Contributed To Fatalities.
- Public Transit Safety Incidents On Streets, Highways, And Bridges Rose By 13% Between 2015 And 2018.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Reported That There Were An Average Of 101 Traffic Fatalities A Day In 2018, Up From 97 A Day In 2015.
- TRUMP CAMPAIGNED ON EXPANDING BROADBAND, BUT AS PRESIDENT HE FAILED TO IMPROVE RURAL ACCESS
- Trump Claimed His Infrastructure Plan Would Include Expanded Access To Broadband
- Trump Said That His Infrastructure Plan Would Include Expanded Access To Broadband Internet For Rural Areas.
- Trump’s Infrastructure Plan Fell Flat And The President Disavowed The Idea OF Federal Meddling In 5G.
- THIRTY-NINE PERCENT OF RURAL AMERICANS, 23 MILLION PEOPLE, DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
- Thirty-nine percent Of Rural Americans, About 23 Million People, Could Not Access High-Speed Internet.
- Trump Signed Two Executive Orders That Fell Short When It Came To Getting Rural Americans Online
- Trump Signed Two Executive Orders Aimed At Easing Red Tape Preventing Private Companies From Building New Internet Infrastructure.
- The Executive Orders Failed To Address The Costs Associated With Installing Fiber Across Rural Communities That Disincentivizes Internet Providers From Expanding Coverage.
- Trump Administration Deregulations And Initiatives Made It Easier For Broadband Providers To Charge Consumers More And Subsidized Monopolies In Rural Areas
- 2017: The FCC Repealed Net Neutrality Rules Requiring Providers To Treat Internet Data Equally, Opening The Door For Providers To Charge More To Access Certain Sites Or To Get Enough Bandwidth For Streaming Services.
- CNBC: “For Example, Because Streaming Video Takes Up More Bandwidth Than Reading Text-Based Sites, Companies Could Charge More,” Including For Sites Like Netflix.
- FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Warned That Internet Providers “Have The Technical Ability And Business Incentive To Discriminate And Manipulate Your Internet Traffic, And Now This Agency Gives Them The Legal Green Light To Go Ahead And Do So.”
- April 2019: The FCC Announced A “New” $20.4 Billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund To Expand Internet Access In Rural Areas, But The Plan Repurposed Existing Funds Designated For The Same Thing.
- Senior VP Of Public Knowledge Harold Feld: “This Is Just Like Slapping ‘New And Improved!’ On The Same Package.”
- Other Critics Pointed Out The Plan Could Result In The Federal Government Subsidizing Internet Provider Monopolies In Rural Areas.
While some political polls show POTUS Joe Biden ahead of Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race, with months to go until voters cast their ballots, Biden is dominating his Republican opponent on major benchmarks, including fundraising.
Biden and Democrats report having more than twice as much cash on hand than Trump and his puppet GOP.
Money isn’t everything and it certainly doesn’t determine the success of a campaign. However, Biden’s cash advantage could allow the Democrat to run a more aggressive campaign, especially in the handful of Sunbelt and Midwestern swing states where small margins of voters could determine the fate of the race.
The thought of a woman, or a minority who had their vote taken away or challenged should make anyone think twice before casting a ballot for any Republican candidate. Finally, If our press freedoms are to have a future, we need to assess the true value of vetted journalism with everything we hold sacred and empower the change agents who may be pushed to the margins.
We need to cater to intelligent individuals who are capable of thought and logic Therefore, we will not be sheep being led by blind faith. Why don’t we all smarten up and realize it before it’s too late? https://cimages.me/content/SMART-PEOPLE-NEEDED
Did someone mention an emergency? Fear not! The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) is here to save the day!
The #FWAB serves as an emergency backup ballot for #UOCAVA citizens who did not receive their absentee ballot from their state in time to participate in the election.
WWW.FVAP.GOV https://www.fvap.gov/info/reports-surveys/StateoftheMilitaryVoter
As the presidential election draws nearer, the spread of bogus information online is getting a huge boost from social media accounts that have been created anonymously
Anonymous users are dominating right-wing discussions online. They also spread false information.
Trump's historic criminal trial for his election interference begins in New York City as he continues to lie about wanting to testify.
Those who are calling this the “hush money” or “sex scandal” trial and implying that Trump was merely trying to hide his tryst with other women are minimizing its significance and misleading the public.
Trump's trial is not just about a personal indiscretion but about interference in the election process. His actions, according to the prosecution are arranging payments to conceal an affair to protect his presidential campaign, which constitutes a violation of campaign finance laws and an attempt to manipulate the election outcome by withholding crucial information from voters. By framing it in this way, the trial becomes about safeguarding the integrity of the electoral system rather than merely focusing on personal behavior. It's an interesting perspective that underscores the broader implications of the case.
Trump’s actions are critically important. Please know what’s at stake in the upcoming trial accurately, correct others when they misdescribe it, and write or email any media that misstate what it’s about.
This criminal trial is about Trump's election interference and the integrity of our democratic voting system.
His election interference began around the time he ran against Hilary Clinton and asked the Russians to help him because he could not fathom losing to a woman. Years later Trump was paying off women he cheated on his wife before his failed re-election campaign and he went on to pressure Georgia’s election official to find non-existent votes so he could steal that election. The man is a political terrorist a liar and a fraud. His criminal actions are finally catching up with his long trail of dirty tricks.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg explained, Trump was out to:
“bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects. Trump then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity.”