Biden initiatives today 1/22
Expanding assistance to Americans in need - help for those who struggle to buy food, missed out on stimulus checks, or are out of work
Raising the minimum wage to $15 for the federal workforce and emergency paid leave
Biden unveils Covid-19 plan based on 'science not politics' as he signs new initiatives
Bureau data shows nearly 30 million people don't always have enough to eat. "And so many are hanging by a thread. They need help, and we are committed to doing everything we can to provide that help as quickly as possible."
Biden included a call to raise the national hourly minimum wage to $15
His agenda next week includes steps to beef up requirements for the government to purchase goods and services from US companies,
a push to eliminate private prisons,
reestablishing the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology,
rescinding the so-called Mexico City policy blocking federal funding for nongovernmental organizations that provide abortion services,
changing border processing and refugee policies
as well as establishing a family reunification task force.
The first order calls for the Department of Agriculture to consider enhancing Pandemic-EBT benefits by 15%,
The program, part of the relief packages Congress passed last March, provides funds to low-income families whose children's schools have closed to replace the free or reduced-price meals they would have received.
Also, the order directs the department to consider allowing states to boost food stamp benefits for about 12 million Americans who did not receive an earlier increase in their emergency allotments.
And the President is asking the agency to look into revising its Thrifty Food Plan, which is the basis for determining food stamp benefits, to better reflect the current cost of a healthy basic diet.
The relief bill lawmakers passed in December increases the maximum benefit of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as food stamps are formally known, by 15% through June. Biden's relief measure would extend it through September.In addition,
Biden will ask the Treasury Department to consider taking a series of actions to reach the estimated 8 million people who may miss out on their stimulus payments because they don't normally file taxes.
And the executive order directs the Department of Labor to consider clarifying that unemployed Americans can refuse to take jobs they fear will jeopardize their health and still qualify for unemployment benefits.
This has become an issue during the pandemic because some out-of-work people have been afraid to accept jobs that they think will expose them to the virus. States have varied in how they have handled these situations.
Restoring civil service protections -revoke three executive orders signed by then- President Donald Trump in 2018 that made it easier to terminate federal employees and weaken their labor unions.
Biden's action directs agencies to bargain over permissible, non-mandatory subjects in contract negotiations
.The order also eliminates the new Schedule F classification for certain federal civil service employees, which Trump created in October by executive order. Critics said Trump's move politicizes civil service and could lead to career officials being pushed out for political reasons.
