Near the one-year mark of his presidency, I thought it important to review some of the things that Democrats led by President Joe Biden have accomplished this year.
While they haven’t done everything I think they could or should have, I firmly believe that the country is better off for their efforts. Many of our families, friends and neighbors have benefited from the legislation and policies pushed by the Biden administration with the support of Texas Democrats.
To me, the most important act Biden took upon his inauguration was to rejoin the Paris climate accord which former President Donald Trump had left. His action put the U.S. back in line with the majority of the world’s nations and also helped place the Biden administration at the center of efforts to tackle global climate change.
While Biden has repeatedly stressed the need to curb climate change by transitioning to clean energy, the administration’s approach has often disappointed me. The U.S. not signing the pledge to end the use of coal power announced at COP26 conference is one of those disappointments.
On the positive side, late last year, the president unveiled a 100-country pledge to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas methane by at least 30 percent by 2030 and joined another agreement to end and reverse deforestation. The Biden administration also ordered U.S. government agencies to stop financing carbon-intensive fossil fuel projects abroad.
Biden, an opponent of the federal death penalty, has reinstated a 17-year pause on federal executions on federal executions. It’s important to remember that according to a study published in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” at least 4 percent of people on death penalty/death row were and are likely innocent. Biden has pledged “to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow.”
President Biden, supported by the 50 Democratic senators, has seen 40 federal judges confirmed so far, more than any president in their first term since Ronald Reagan in 1981, and twice as many as Trump appointed during his first year.
Many Americans are pessimistic about the U.S. economy given inflation at a 40-year high, yet it’s important to remember that Biden’s first year in office has seen significant improvements in job and wage growth. The national unemployment rate fell from 6.3 percent in January to just 4.2 percent in November, the lowest since March 2020, and jobless claims fell to their lowest levels since 1969 in early December.
Yes, inflation has increased but more importantly wages and salaries paid by private businesses rose more, outpacing inflation by 2.4 percent from January to October and disposable income grew 3 percent. The American Rescue Plan, passed on a near party line vote and the historic economy recovery, combined to cut child poverty in half. Looking forward, two very important pieces of legislation are on the docket, the Build Back Better Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
Build Back Better is a wide-ranging bill that combines major infrastructure projects with improvements in economic fairness. The bill funds government purchases of electric vehicles and zero-emission, heavy-duty vehicles in addition to incentives to consumers for buying electric cars and trucks. This is an important step in both reducing the damage from climate change and developing energy independence. There is also funding for wildfire prevention, drought relief, conservation efforts, and climate change research; all of which affect Texas greatly.
The Freedom to Vote Act would ban partisan gerrymandering and establish clear, neutral standards for congressional redistricting and strengthened protections for communities of color. These rules would be applicable to all maps created in the current cycle, including those that have already been enacted.
The Freedom to Vote Act would require all 50 states to offer early voting periods for at least two weeks prior to Election Day, including on nights and weekends, for at least 10 hours per day just like Texas does. The bill would create a national standard permitting no-excuse vote by mail for every eligible voter and states would be required to permit voters to apply for absentee ballots online. The bill would promote a national standard for states that have an identification requirement for in-person voting, allowing for the use of a wide range of forms of identification (including electronic copies) and alternative options for voter validation meaning that Texas college students could use their student ID to vote.
To get involved in activism at a local level, visit our website at www.kcdems.us or call our office at 830-331-1243.
J.C. Dufresne is a local Democrat.
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