Legislative Update: Biden Takes Office

On Jan. 20, Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States when he and Kamala Harris were sworn into office in front of the Capitol building that only two weeks prior was the scene of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. With Democrats controlling the White House and (barely) both chambers of Congress, there will sure to be a flurry of new policies to monitor. But with such razor-thin margins, time will tell if President Biden’s ability to unify the Republicans and Democrats can lead to the passage of his ambitious legislative agenda.

An Unusual Inauguration for Unusual Times

Biden proved that he was wasting no time getting to work on his administration’s policy priorities. Inauguration day started with Biden’s White House releasing more than a dozen bold executive actions halting and reversing a number of Trump administration deregulatory actions. For the first two weeks, his administration will steadily release more executive actions to dismantle what he referred to as “damaging” Trump administration policies that focus on the environment, climate change, immigration, social equality, COVID response, Buy America, and economic recovery.

After being sworn in Wednesday, Biden held a signing ceremony where he rejoined the Paris climate accord, revoked a permit for the Keystone pipeline, and rolled back several environmental actions. Vice-President Kamala Harris presided over the Senate, swearing-in three new Democratic Senators and officially giving Democrats the Majority in the Senate, since the Vice President of the United States is also the President of the Senate under the constitution. America also watched President Biden virtually swear in appointees. As part is his goals “to restore and maintain trust in the government,” he ordered all his appointees to sign an ethics pledge. The White House also held its first press briefing on Inauguration Day. Press secretary Jen Psaki pledged to build trust with the media by increasing transparency, sharing accurate information, and returning to daily press briefings.

Regulatory Actions

Hours after being sworn in, Biden also signed a memorandum freezing all new regulations put in motion by President Trump before leaving office. The pause will give his administration the time to review and determine which ones it wants to move forward.

One of Wednesday’s Executive Orders (E.O.s) “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,” looks to reverse several of President Trump’s deregulatory actions that were promulgated, issued, or adopted for the past four years that conflict with the Biden administration’s national objectives and plans to immediately commence work to confront the climate crisis.   Some of the E.O.’s provisions, which are mostly aimed at EPA and the Department of Energy include:

• Reviews of all agency actions taken between Jan. 20, 2017, and Jan. 20, 2021. The “non-exclusive” list of agency actions that will be reviewed is wide-sweeping across several agencies including, several rules on drinking water, the use of chemicals, risk management, emissions, environmental quality, conservation, and endangered species.
• Review and reconsideration of the “Waters of the United States” Rule, Methane emission limits for new oil and gas sources, rolling back tailpipe carbon dioxide limits, Clean Air Act cost-benefit analysis rule, Science transparency rule.
• Revokes an O. 13927, “Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery From the COVID–19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities” which allowed agencies to use emergency powers to expedite transportation, civil works projects, and other infrastructure projects on Federal lands by speeding up the environmental permitting process in the wake of COVID-19.
• Reinstates an interagency working group to develop calculations for the social costs of greenhouse gases.
• Halts all action related to oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that the Trump administration sold earlier this month.
• Requires the director of the Council on Environmental Quality to rescind draft guidance released by the Trump administration limiting the ability of agencies to include greenhouse gas emissions in their environmental reviews. It also requires CEQ to rescind guidance that accelerated environmental reviews for environmental projects and to consider a new, replacement order.
• Rescinds energy efficiency rules put in place by the Trump DOE to make it harder to create new standards.

The White House also released a separate E.O. directing the Office of Management and Budget to come up with improvements to modernize the regulatory review process. Many progressive lawmakers have argued that the executive review process under prior administrations skewed rules too often in favor of industry interests while often overlooking underserved or marginalized communities.

Congress

Biden’s ambitions will face tough negotiations in Congress after releasing bold COVID-19 and immigration plans. Tensions are sure to be raised as Congress also faces the looming impeachment trials of former President Trump, which some Republicans want to see thrown out. On Jan. 14, Biden unveiled the first part of his two-part $1.9 trillion stimulus package calling on Congress to approve $415 billion in emergency spending to scale up vaccinations, testing, and other efforts to combat Covid-19. $440 billion will help communities and businesses hit the hardest by the pandemic. Other provisions include:

• $30 billion for purchasing supplies and protective gear
• $3 billion toward the Strategic National Stockpile
• $900 billion will go toward $1,400 direct payment checks (on top of the $600 checks passed in December.)
• $350 billion in state and localities funding, including $20 billion for tribal governments
• Extends unemployment insurance benefits to $400 per week through September
• Increases housing aid $25 billion in rental assistance plus $5 billion to cover home energy and water costs in arrears, through programs including the Low Income Home Emergency Assistance Program (LIHEAP); $5 billion in emergency assistance to help secure housing for people experiencing homelessness
• Provides 14 weeks of paid leave for caregivers and temporarily cuts the state match
• Raises the minimum wage to $15 per hour
• Extends and expands the child tax credit to as much as $3,600 per year for families with young children

House Democrats are projecting they will pass Biden’s “America Rescue Plan” by late February or early March. Congressional leaders are reportedly preparing to pass both parts of the two-bill “Rescue” and “Recover” package through budget reconciliation. Using this procedural move would require the bill to be passed by a simple majority in the Senate, rather than the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. However it will be up the Senate Parliamentarian to decide how much of the plans can pass the “Byrd Rule” which prohibits items that are extraneous to the budget.

Cabinet Confirmations

Another area of urgency for the Biden presidency is getting his cabinet confirmed quickly. Due to Trump’s election lawsuits, the Georgia runoffs, and the siege on the Capitol, Biden’s confirmation hearings have been significantly delayed. Several key cabinet nominees began their confirmation hearings on Jan. 19, with the Senate expediting the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’ confirmation on Jan. 20. Department of Transportation nominee Pete Buttigieg is testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee on Jan. 21. Additional confirmation hearings are expected to be announced this week.