January 29, 2021
Dear Interested Readers
The First Week of Building Back Better Reveals That We Have Much To Do
From what I read in the papers, the president has been very busy cleaning up after the last occupant of the White House. Elizabeth Janowski, a Dartmouth student who is an intern at NBC News, has given us a complete list of the executive orders President Biden has signed in the first nine days of his presidency.
On Inauguration Day without a big parade and with no inaugural balls, President Biden had plenty of time to sit down at the Resolute Desk to begin to nullify and disassemble many of the most egregious things his predecessor had wrought. On day one he signed eleven executive orders, four memorandums, and two proclamations. In this post, I am presenting Ms. Janowski’s list of the actions taken and her description of their meaning. I have interspersed my comments in purple type throughout her excellent chronological list of the actions the president has taken.
As I read the long list of the president’s initial actions, I am forced to remember many of the darker moments of the past four years that began with Trump’s bizarre inaugural speech and his first executive orders that sought to undo many of the programs initiated by Barak Obama. It is also impossible not to recognize that even though Trump is gone he is not forgotten and that almost all of his enablers are still with us as are tens of millions of people among us who still applaud him for the advantages of inequality that he tried to solidify on their behalf.
With these actions, Joe Biden has put his toe in the doorway of change, but it would be foolish if I did not realize that there will be continuing pressure from the other side of the doorway coming from those who want a return to Trump’s vitriol. It is impossible for me to forget the mean spirited snarls onTrump’s face as he took many of the actions that Biden has sought to correct by the multitude of documents he has signed during his first days in office. At the end of Biden’s first nine days in office, we were back in the Paris Climate Accords, the government was on a new path toward racial equity, the ban on visitors from Muslim countries was gone, DACA was secure once again, the federal government was leading the defense of the nation from the COVID pandemic, the ACA had been revitalized, the wall on the border is gone, students were getting some relief from their debts, the oppression of LGBTQ+ community was somewhat mitigated, and we were counting everyone in the census. That’s a lot of immediate change.
Day one was the most dramatic day. I like the fact that the president divided his signing of orders into separate tasks to be done on multiple days. Here is day one.
Memorandum freezing approval of rules passed in final days of Trump presidency
According to Biden’s memorandum, all new and pending rules passed in the last days of Trump’s tenure will be reviewed by department and agency heads.
Executive order rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change
Fulfilling one of his top campaign promises, Biden committed to putting the U.S. back in the Paris Agreement on climate change — an international pact aimed at curbing emissions that cause global warming. Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2017, citing costs to American taxpayers.
Executive order to promote racial equity
Biden ordered his government to conduct equity assessments of its agencies and reallocate resources to “advanc[e] equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
Proclamation ending ban on U.S. entry from majority-Muslim countries
Biden’s proclamation reversed Trump’s policy that barred entry to the U.S. for refugees and residents from seven predominantly Muslim countries and orders plans within 45 days for resuming visa processing.
Executive order requiring mask-wearing on federal property
Biden has mandated mask-wearing and social distancing on all federal properties. While the president lacks the authority to institute a nationwide mask mandate, the order also “encourage[s] masking across America.”
Executive order coordinating a government-wide Covid-19 response
With the U.S. surpassing 400,000 COVID-19 deaths earlier this month, Biden’s order created the position of Covid-19 response coordinator, who will advise the president and oversee the distribution of vaccines, tests and other supplies.
Executive order revising immigration enforcement policies
Revoking a Trump-era policy that cracked down on communities shielding undocumented immigrants from deportation, Biden vowed to “protect national and border security” and “address the humanitarian challenges at the southern border.”
Executive order undoing regulatory restrictions on federal agencies
Biden’s order scrapped a batch of Trump-era executive actions that restricted how federal agencies make regulatory changes, including one measure requiring agencies to discard two regulations for every one proposed.
Executive order incorporating undocumented immigrants into census
Undocumented immigrants will be counted in the national decennial population count, according to Biden’s order, which overturned Trump’s attempt to exclude them during the 2020 census.
Executive order refocusing on the climate crisis and canceling the Keystone XL permit
Alongside a variety of actions to “advance environmental justice,” Biden revoked the permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline — a 1,200-mile pipeline system projected to carry crude oil from Canada to the U.S. that cuts through Indigenous lands.
The measure also restored several national monuments whose footprints were reduced by Trump and paused oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Executive order banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation
In a move lauded by LGBTQ advocates, Biden’s order will extend federal nondiscrimination protections to members of the LGBTQ community, building off the landmark Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, last year to expand protections against discrimination based on sex in federal agencies to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression as well.
Memorandum revamping regulatory review
In a memorandum, Biden directed the head of the Office of Budget and Management to oversee an effort to “modernize and improve” the regulatory review process.
Executive order mandating ethics pledge for government appointees
On the heels of Trump’s midnight bid to reverse ethics commitments for executive branch employees, Biden signed an order requiring all government appointees to sign an ethics pledge prohibiting the acceptance of gifts from registered lobbyists and lobbying for at least two years after exiting the government.
Proclamation pulling funds from the border wall
Biden terminated the construction and funding of the wall at the U.S. southern border — a key promise of the Trump administration that has drawn backlash for its environmental impacts and is being litigated at the Supreme Court for the allegedly improper use of funds.
Executive order pausing federal student loan payments
Biden requested an extension of the freeze on federal student loan payments, writing that “[t]oo many Americans are struggling to pay for basic necessities and to provide for their families.”
Memorandum reinstating deferred enforced departure for Liberians
Biden’s memorandum blocked the deportation of Liberian refugees living in the U.S., reinstating the deferment of their enforced departure granted by the Bush and Obama administrations.
Memorandum strengthening Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Biden reaffirmed DACA, an Obama-era program that Trump had long sought to dismantle that shielded undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children from deportation. Help is on the way’: Biden unveils national strategy for Covid-19 vaccinations
After the Herculean efforts on day one, it is amazing that the pace continued on day two. The emphasis on day two was COVID-19. He signed eight executive orders and one memorandum. I should insert here that my favorite podcaster, Ezra Klein has moved from Vox to the New York Times. His first column/podcast was an excellent review of President Biden’s strategy and challenges in the battle against COVID delivered through an excellent two-hour interview with Dr. Vivek Murthy who was Surgeon General in the Obama administration and is President Biden’s nominee for the same position. You can listen to the conversation as I did on a leisurely two-hour walk, or alternatively scan the transcript. Here are the eight COVID executive orders and one memorandum signed on day two:
Executive order promoting Covid-19 safety in domestic and international travel
In an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 through travel, Biden mandated mask-wearing on all forms of public transportation, including in airports, airplanes, and buses.
Executive order expanding access to Covid-19 treatments
Biden’s order has directed the secretary of health to support research on Covid-19 treatments and increase support for critical care and long-term care facilities like nursing homes — which have been among the sites hit hardest by the pandemic.
Executive order promoting data-driven response to Covid-19
Another of Biden’s orders on the nation’s Covid-19 response directed all department and agency heads to “facilitate the gathering, sharing and publication of Covid-19-related data” in order to inform their decision-making and public understanding of the pandemic.
Memorandum supporting states’ use of National Guard in Covid-19 response
Biden’s memorandum directed the secretaries of defense and homeland security to support governors’ deployment of the National Guard in efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which will be fully funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Executive order strengthening public health supply chain
Biden’s order invoked the Defense Production Act to ramp up supplies for the pandemic response and requested the heads of various departments to assess the nationwide availability of personal protective equipment and other resources needed to distribute Covid-19 tests and coronavirus vaccines, as well as to develop a strategy to manufacture supplies for “future pandemics and biological threats.”
Executive order establishing the Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force
In an effort to address social inequities exacerbated by the pandemic, Biden’s order created the Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force, which will provide recommendations on the allocation of resources and funding in light of “disparities in COVID-19 outcomes by race, ethnicity and other factors.”
Executive order supporting the reopening and continuing operation of schools
In consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education will develop guidance for elementary and secondary schools “in deciding whether and how to reopen, and how to remain open, for in-person learning; and in safely conducting in-person learning.”
Executive order promoting workplace safety amid the pandemic
Biden’s order directed the Department of Labor to revise and issue new guidance for employers to promote the health and safety of their workers, such as mask-wearing in the workplace.
Executive order establishing a Covid-19 pandemic testing board
Biden’s newly created pandemic testing board will coordinate national efforts to “promote Covid-19 diagnostic, screening and surveillance testing,” as well as facilitate the distribution of free Covid-19 tests to those without comprehensive health insurance.
Last Friday, day three of the signing spree, was another busy day for the new president. The theme of the day seems to have been trying to improve the efficiency of bringing the benefits of competent government to the citizens who are in the most need. I spend much of my time these days trying to help people get the benefits that the state and federal programs suggest should be available to them, but that bureaucratic barriers deny them. It was a light day for the president with his pen, but the benefit of the president’s efforts will flow to many of our citizens who feel the heel of inequity on their necks and live every day under some of the most difficult circumstances that define the social determinants of health. Perhaps the order that will do the most to promote a positive new normal is the one that will begin to move all federal jobs to a living wage of $15 per hour.
Executive order expanding food assistance programs
Biden’s order aims to extend the 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and allow states to increase SNAP emergency allotments, as well as increase benefits under another aid program, the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer, which gives students money for food.
Executive order assisting veterans with debt
Biden’s order asked the Department of Veterans Affairs with considering a freeze on federal debt and overpayment collection from about 2 million veterans.
Executive order guaranteeing unemployment insurance for workers who refuse work due to Covid-19
Biden has requested that the Department of Labor consider clarifying its rules to establish that workers “have a federally guaranteed right to refuse employment that will jeopardize their health,” and that workers who do so will still qualify for unemployment insurance.
Executive order establishing “benefit delivery teams”
Biden’s order established “a network of benefit delivery teams,” which will coordinate with state and federal agencies to facilitate the distribution of federal aid amid the pandemic.
Executive order facilitating delivery of stimulus payments
Biden’s order requested the Treasury Department to consider taking “a series of actions to expand and improve delivery” of direct stimulus payments, including the creation of online tools for recipients to claim their checks.
Executive order to address Covid-19 economic relief
Biden’s order directed all government departments and agencies to “promptly identify actions they can take within existing authorities to address the current economic crisis resulting from the pandemic.”
Executive order empowering federal workers and contractors
Undoing Trump-era regulations that rolled back protections for federal employees, Biden revoked a variety of measures, including a rule that made it easier to hire and fire civil servants in policy-making positions.
The order also requested the Department of Labor to develop recommendations that all federal government employees receive a minimum wage of $15 an hour.
In Genesis, we read that after six days of setting up the world God took the seventh day to rest. Things were much simpler back then. Joe must have been exhausted and could have had a writer’s cramp or a flare of carpal tunnel syndrome after signing 33 executive orders, memorandums, or proclamations because he took off Saturday and Sunday. On Monday he was back at making things better with his trusty pen(s).
Executive order reversing transgender military ban
Biden repealed the ban on transgender people serving openly in the military and ordered the defense secretary to “immediately prohibit involuntary separations, discharges, and denials of reenlistment or continuation of service on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances relating to their gender identity.”
Proclamation reinstating Covid-19 travel restrictions
Biden reinstated Covid-19 travel restrictions affecting non-U.S. citizens traveling from Brazil and much of Europe, which Trump had scrapped days before his term ended. Additionally, the ban will bar most non-U.S. citizens from entry if they have recently been in South Africa, where a new strain of Covid-19 has been identified.
Executive order promoting ‘Buy American’ agenda
In an effort to bolster American manufacturing, Biden signed an executive order directing agencies to strengthen requirements about purchasing products and services from U.S. workers and businesses and to “close loopholes that allow companies to offshore production and jobs while still qualifying for domestic preferences.”
Day seven was Tuesday. It was a day when Biden took on housing policy which is the greatest barrier that prevents the poor where I live from achieving stability. I have always been disgusted by the idea of for-profit prisons. Joe directed the Attorney General to get us out of the contracts that turn federal prisons into an income opportunity. There were only four signings but the last two addressed the rights of native peoples and the xenophobic responses to people of Asain and Pacific Island heritage.
Executive order calling for evaluation of Trump’s housing policies
Biden directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development to “examine the effects of the previous Administration’s regulatory actions that undermined fair housing policies and laws” and use its findings to implement the Fair Housing Act’s standards as needed.
Executive order to end reliance on private prisons
In an effort to terminate the federal government’s use of privately owned detention facilities, the Attorney General has been directed not to renew Department of Justice contracts with private prisons.
Executive order reaffirming commitment to tribal sovereignty
Emphasizing the administration’s commitment to respecting the sovereignty of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, Biden’s order reaffirmed a Clinton-era policy mandating all department and agency heads regularly consult with tribal officials on policy matters that may affect them.
Executive order denouncing anti-Asian discrimination and xenophobia
In response to a surge in anti-Asian bias amid the coronavirus pandemic, Biden’s order urged the Department of Health and Human Services to consider issuing guidance on cultural competency and sensitivity toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as part of the nation’s Covid-19 response. Additionally, the order directed the attorney general to work to prevent discrimination and hate crimes.
Day Eight was really his sixth day of creative effort and the time to alleviate more concerns about our abuse of the planet and the controversies over using science to support effective strategies to build back better without creating new problems for future generations. He absolutely believes that we can create new work opportunities that lead to a recovery of the economy while protecting the environment. Our greatest challenge to moving to a green economy is letting go of the industries and habits that sustain pollution. In healthcare, we have a similar problem. We find it hard to give up what doesn’t work well now and will lead to disaster in the future. I believe that after establishing universal access the second most effective strategic move we could make toward the Triple Aim would be to give up our dysfunctional fee for service payment system and move to value-based payment based on equitably meeting the needs of everyone in a defined population. Someday we will have a green economy and a system of care that is patient-centered, safe, efficient, effective, performs in a timely fashion, and above all is equitable in providing its care without barriers to everyone.
Executive order initiating plan to combat climate change
In accordance with the Paris Agreement on climate change, Biden’s plan to tackle climate change called for the U.S. to determine its target for emissions reduction and directed federal agencies to incorporate climate considerations into their international plans. The order also directed agencies to purchase American-made, zero-emission vehicles in an effort to create union jobs as part of Biden’s “Buy American” agenda, suspend new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and conserve at least 30 percent of federal lands and waters by 2030.
Additionally, the order established the Office of Domestic Climate Policy and a national climate task force, as well as a working group to assist communities impacted by coal mining and power plants and an environmental justice council to “address the disproportionate health, environmental, economic and climate impacts on disadvantaged communities.”
Memorandum on scientific integrity
According to Biden’s memorandum, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy will review agency policies on scientific integrity, and agencies that oversee research must designate a senior employee to “ensure agency research programs are scientifically and technologically well-founded and conducted with integrity.”
Executive order re-establishing presidential council on science and technology
The president will solicit input from a council of advisors on science and technology, which will advise Biden on “scientific and technical information that is needed to inform public policy relating to the economy, worker empowerment, education, energy, environment, public health, national and homeland security, racial equity, and other topics.”
Yesterday may have been the best day of all. On his seventh workday and ninth day in office, Joe Biden began the restoration of the hope that was initiated by the passage of the ACA. We have been treading water in the management of our system of care over the last four years. The pandemic has underlined what we have known for the last thirty years. We have an ineffective, overly expensive, poorly responsive, and inequitable system of care that is often run like a Trump resort catering to a public that is willing to pay for a product with more glitz than reliable efficiency. What often saves the system is the individual heroism of professionals who try to swim against a current of inefficiency that arises from a focus on volume without adequate assurance of quality, safety, or equity. As bad as it is, what is worse is that it ignores more than 25,000,000 people, many of whom are the essential workers who do our most dangerous and tedious work. The Trump abuse of the ACA is over unless the justices he appointed do what he could never do—take access to healthcare away from the poor who have benefited from the expansion of Medicaid and the self-employed and lower middle class for whom it provides the financial support needed to buy access to care on the exchanges.
Executive order reinforcing Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act
In an effort to counter Trump’s attempts to strike down the Affordable Care Act, Biden signed an order directing agencies to re-examine policies that undermined protections for people with pre-existing conditions, complicated the process of enrolling in Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and reduced coverage and affordability of the programs.
The order also designated Feb. 15 to May 15 as a “special enrollment period” for uninsured Americans to sign up on healthcare.gov for health insurance amid the pandemic.
Memorandum expanding access to reproductive health care
Biden’s memorandum immediately revoked the “Mexico City policy,” also referred to as the global gag rule, a Reagan-era policy reinstated by Trump that blocks federal funding to foreign organizations that perform abortions or provide abortion counseling or referrals.
Additionally, Biden directed the Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate whether to rescind Trump regulations under the Title X family planning program, which pulled funding from hundreds of women’s health clinics across the country in 2019.
As busy as President Biden has been, I think that what he has done so far is the easy part of building back better. Real reconstruction will require legislation, and for reasons that are hard for me to fathom using policies and legislation to create economic opportunity and address social problems gets the same sort of resistance that was once reserved for denial of civil rights to every American without reference to race, faith, or gender identity. Don’t take that last statement as an indication that I don’t believe in the power of free enterprise to benefit us all, but I also have seen that when markets are not regulated to be observant of the rights and privileges of all, everything eventually descends into the devastating dysfunction of inequity. All of Joe’s early work is about righting some of our most egregious abuses of the planet and one another in the pursuit of self-interest. Rules don’t really limit freedom. They ensure our freedoms and give us confidence that we can exercise our creativity without being abused by others who seek advantages that deny opportunity to others. For the most vulnerable among us the rules and regulations represent the guarantee of the rights they have always been denied.
It is hard to imagine a better first week considering all the challenges we faced during the last four painful years. I regret all the momentum that we lost while in exile from the grace of empathy with Trump. Now we have the opportunity to begin the journey again in our quest to create a more perfect union. Joe Biden’s pen has brought some much-needed relief and represents the hope that we are on the move once again toward a better society.
Tracks In The Snow
The high temperature in New London today will be 10 degrees. Overnight we got down to zero. We are finally having legitimate winter. Every morning I build a fire in my living room fireplace and sit down in my easy chair with a big cup of very black coffee and check out what has happened in the world overnight. I monitor the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Los Angeles Times online. Once I am caffeinated and have surveyed the online news, I walk about a hundred yards up the driveway to fetch the local paper. I can’t give up the joy of having a paper in my hands. On the best mornings, I am greeted by a few inches of fresh snow. As I walk up the drive to the road to get my paper, I am amazed at all the tracks I see in the fresh snow. It is easy to identify the tracks of deer and rabbits. I am pretty sure that I see evidence of a fox every now and then, but there are many footprints that I can’t yet identify. I know that there are bobcats, raccoons, and fisher cats in the woods, but I have not learned what their tracks look like. When I come back down the drive with my paper, I see my own tracks intermingled with those of the local fauna. There is still so much to learn!
If you look closely at today’s header, you will see tracks in the snow. The picture comes from a drone study done by my neighbor Peter Bloch. The scene is the Bradford Bog which is about ten miles south and west of where I live. There are several bogs in our area which are remnants of the glacier that as recently as 12,000 years ago rose over a mile into the sky. Much of what I see as I walk around is relatively new and is the legacy of the glacier. Last summer a local friend introduced me to the great bike rides on the back roads around Bradford.
Ironically, as beautiful as the Bradford area is, there is a lot of poverty in the town. Our non-profit organization delivers wood to many impoverished families and individuals in the area. The juxtaposition of beautiful scenery and poverty is common in the Appalachians of Georgia, The Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia. In reality, we are near the upper end of that long chain of economic distress. The pattern extends past us and on into Vermont and Maine. At our end of the chain, poverty and wealth are often coexisting within less than a mile. It’s sort of like Manhattan and the Bronx or Back Bay and Roxbury. Even in the hinterland, your zip code determines a lot.
Returning to the discussion of tracks in the snow, if you click on the link to Peter’s video site, you can read his explanation of the tracks he captured. If you don’t have the time to check out the video, I will be a spoiler and say that he did a little research with a friend who is a naturalist and determined that the tracks were made by North American river otters. Maybe some of the tracks in my yard are from otters. In the summer I have occasionally seen what I think are otters at the shoreline on my lake.
Getting into nature is a good respite from COVID worries, vaccination anxiety, and the recurrent evidence of inequality in our midst. It will be very cold in the northeast this weekend, but if you can get out and take a look you might see something interesting.
Be well. Be hopeful. Be a part of the effort to rebuild and redirect the future of your community. Let me hear from you. I would love to know what is happening wherever you are.
Gene
