Biden’s First 100 Days Plan

The world is watching to see what President Joe Biden accomplishes in his first 100 days. But why this particular time frame? What makes the first hundred days an important presidential benchmark? In 1933, during the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid out an ambitious list of legislation. He worked with Congress to pass 76 laws, and issued 99 executive orders in his first 100 days in office. Since then, the legislative process has grown much more complex. But even so, today’s presidents still use their first hundred days as a benchmark. Presidents often have their highest approval rating just after winning an election. This can help make these first weeks in office the most effective for achieving campaign promises. Here, Election Central looks at what President Biden has already set in motion and what he has planned for his first hundred days in office.

COVID-19 Response

President Biden has named COVID-19 as one of the greatest threats currently facing our nation. Battling coronavirus is one of the new president’s highest priorities. One of his first actions was reversing the Trump administration’s decision to remove the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). He has also taken executive action to require social distancing and mask-wearing on all federal property nationwide. Biden has pledged to vaccinate 100 million Americans in his first hundred days. He hopes to speed up rapid testing and improve the supply and delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Economy

One of the other main focus points for the new president’s first week in the White House is strengthening the economy. Biden is promoting to Congress a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package. If Congress passes the economic plan without changes, it will provide a $1,400 direct payment to American households. President Biden also paused student loan payments and the interest on those loans to give financial relief to college graduates who are struggling to earn money and maintain their high college debts.

Immigration

President Biden hopes to create a path to citizenship for more than 11 million undocumented immigrants. He has appointed a task force to begin the process of reuniting immigrant children with their parents who were separated as they tried to cross the nation’s southern border. President Biden also halted further construction on the Trump administration’s border wall.

Executive Orders

Much of what President Biden has done during these first days in office is based on executive orders rather than actual laws. Executive orders do not require agreement by the legislative branch. This is also what makes their increased use by several recent presidents controversial. Many of the key executive orders that Biden has already signed, or those he is planning to sign, focus on reversing policies enacted during the Trump administration. Examples include lifting Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military; rejoining the Paris climate agreement; canceling the Keystone XL pipeline; and allowing government agencies to implement diversity and inclusion training.

What Do You Think? What do you think is the most important issue that the Biden administration should focus on during its first hundred days? Why?