Featured Image: By Zach Rudisin from Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source.
Upon coming into office on day one itself, as is usual at the start of the presidency in the US, the President – Joe Biden in this case – has made a handful of immediate executive orders, presidential proclamations, memorandums, and other actions. Many of these have took an aim at the reversal, halting and/or review of a number of Trump-era policies and orders, including many that were controversial. A number of the orders also relate to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic for obvious reason. The Biden administration is going to be taking a very different approach to it compared to that of the former Trump administration.
There were also some other orders mixed within all that, so let’s go over a number of them.
Health & Coronavirus
Joe Biden upon coming into office ended the United State’s departure from the World Health Organisation, which Trump had begun the process of leaving due to what he called Chinese control and influence within the organisation.
An executive order was also signed to organize and mobilize the US Governments response to the coronavirus in a unified way that is effective to combat the disease and also to provide US leadership on global health and security. Part of this order includes making a new position to lead the federal governments coordinated response, the position will also be in charge of planning for any possible future pandemics and/or biological threats.
The aims of the above is to reduce disparities in response, care and treatment of COVID-19, including disparities that are racial or ethnic. Another aim is to coordinate Federal Government efforts to produce, supply and distribute personal protective equipment, vaccines, tests and any other supplies needed for the COVID-19 response. The position will work to expand testing as an effective public health response. It will also coordinate efforts to reopen educational places and services such as schools, child care providers, and Head-start programs. It will also work to ensure the continuity of these things for young children, elementary and secondary school students.
The position will work to also coordinate with State, local, tribal and territorial authorities.
The above order also made wearing masks and observing social distancing a requirement for all federal workers and to all those, worker or other, on federal property
Joe Biden has also requested for agencies to extend eviction and foreclosure moratoriums and also extend federal student-loan pause to help those struggling due to economic impacts of the coronavirus.
Equality, Civil Rights, Immigration
Joe Biden signed an executive order that will work to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities via the federal government. It orders the federal government to take a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of colour and others who are marginalized, and those effected by persistent poverty and inequality. The order states that advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity is the responsibility of the federal Government. A systematic approach to embed fairness into decision-making processes and working to have executive departments and agencies recognise and work to redress inequities in their policies and programs which serve as barriers against equal opportunity. The Domestic Policy Council will coordinate this response across the federal government.
The above executive order also ended Trump’s controversial 1776 Commission, an advisory committee that had a goal of supporting Trump’s view of patriotic education. Executive Order 13950 of September 22, 2020 (Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping), was also revoked.
Joe Biden signed another executive order that revokes a Trump order that would have aimed to exclude undocumented migrants from the Census. The main argument for this in the order is for an accurate representation of the “whole people” in each state to determine accurate apportionment of state representatives to the House of Representatives after each Census, the order cites the constitution numerous times for the justification of this.
Joe Biden signed a memorandum with an aim to preserve and fortify DACA which is an executive policy from the Obama administration that aimed to give protections from deportation fir undocumented migrants referred to as Dreamers, which are those who were children brought over illegally by parents. Under Donald Trump the policy faced attempts of dismantlement but this was hampered and also blocked on a number of occasions via various federal court battles.
Joe Biden signed a proclamation to end discriminatory bans on entry into the United States, taking aim at Trump’s controversial Muslim-majority country bans to the US over terrorism fears, which faced immense federal court battles. The proclamation puts an end to a number of Trump executive orders in relation to this such as, Executive Order 13780 of March 6, 2017 (Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States), Proclamation 9645 of September 24, 2017 (Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats), Proclamation 9723 of April 10, 2018 (Maintaining Enhanced Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats), and Proclamation 9983 of January 31, 2020 (Improving Enhanced Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats).
Joe Biden has committed to individualized vetting of those entering via a VISA when required, rather than blanket vetting or bans.
Further Joe Biden also signed an Executive Order aimed at preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, which will apply to healthcare, work places, educational places, and against such discrimination that may be used by a landlord to remove someone from their property solely due to gender identity/sexual orientation. The Executive Order cites areas of the Constitution as well as federal non-discrimination laws as justification for the enforcement of the Order. This Order also orders all federal agencies to review policies and regulations to make sure they conform with the goals of this Order and Joe Biden’s administration.
Joe Biden released a proclamation aimed at Trump’s controversial construction of a border wall on the Mexican border, the order included ending the state of emergency that was declared on the border as a way to divert funds, resources and manpower to its construction as well as stopping the construction of the wall itself. The Order states no more taxpayer dollars will be spent on the wall and all appropriated or redirected resources will be reviewed. The order states that some projects related may resume related to funds allocated by Congress or related to laws and a plan to redivert funds will be drawn up by the Biden administration that may involve resuming, modifying or terminating projects.
Joe Biden also signed an Executive Order that aims to revise civil immigration enforcement policies and priorities including resetting as such to align with stated goals in the order that involve protecting national and border security; addressing humanitarian challenges at the Southern border; ensuring public health and safety; and adhering to due process of law and safeguarding the dignity and well-being of all families and communities. The order also revoked Executive Order 13768 of January 25, 2017 (Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States), and asked various executive heads concerned to review actions taken related to this now revoked order and issue revised guidance consistent with law that advances policies of the Executive Order.
Joe Biden released a memorandum to extend protections against deportations and extend right to work for Liberians. It relates to various policies, orders, legislation and memorandums since 1991 that have given safe haven to Liberians from conflict and civil strife. Under Donald Trump the program aimed to make such peoples a United States lawful Permanent Resident by a specific deadline, such is directed to be further extended into 2022.
Environment and Climate Change
Joe Biden also signed an instrument pledging its agreement with and to follow regulations of the Paris Climate Accord with the aim of starting the process of rejoining the Paris Climate Accord that the US withdrew from under the Trump administration over what he called its unfair bias in favour of countries such as China and India compared to regulations the US would have to follow.
Joe Biden also signed an environmental executive order that included revoking the permit of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline that was given the go-ahead under Trump. More extensively the order directs all executive departments and agencies to immediately review and where needed take action to address promulgation of Federal regulations and other actions during the last 4-years that have conflicted with important national environmental objectives stated in the order, and to also immediately begin work to confront the climate crisis.
The executive order also revoked a number of Trump-era orders and policies including but not limited to Executive Order 13766 of January 24, 2017 (Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals For High Priority Infrastructure Projects), executive Order 13778 of February 28, 2017 (Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the “Waters of the United States” Rule), Executive Order 13783 of March 28, 2017 (Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth), Executive Order 13795 of April 28, 2017 (Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy), Executive Order 13927 of June 4, 2020 (Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities).
The Presidential Memorandum of April 12, 2018 (Promoting Domestic Manufacturing and Job Creation Policies and Procedures Relating to Implementation of Air Quality Standards), the Presidential Memorandum of October 19, 2018 (Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West), and the Presidential Memorandum of February 19, 2020 (Developing and Delivering More Water Supplies in California), were also revoked.
Federal Government
Joe Biden signed an Executive Order that revoked a number of federal regulatory related executive orders for the purposes of more effectively confronting urgent issues of the Joe Biden administration such as the coronavirus pandemic, racial justice, economic recovery, and climate change. A further memorandum was also released to freeze any new or pending federal regulations so they can be reviewed.
Joe Biden has since released more Executive Orders and other actions that I will go over as well in a future post.
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