“These actions are concrete and will provide immediate support to hard-hit families,” Brian Deese, head of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters by phone on Thursday evening. But, he added, “They are not enough. Much, much more is needed. “
Through an executive order, Biden will ask the Department of Agriculture to consider increasing the benefits of food assistance and money to help families with school-aged children buy groceries. He will ask the Treasury Department to consider taking steps to ensure that more Americans qualified to receive economic relief checks can receive them.
And he will ask the Department of Labor to clarify the guidelines that have so far forced American workers who have refused an offer to return to work to lose their unemployment benefits, even if returning to the workplace puts them or their families at greater risk. .
The second order is focused on protecting federal and contract workers, in part restoring collective bargaining power and protecting workers by revoking measures that President Donald Trump had signed. It also eliminates Schedule F, a class of workers that Trump established that deprived many federal employees of employment protections.
He asks agencies to see which employees earn less than $ 15 an hour and make recommendations for them to earn more than that salary.
The orders are the latest in a blitz of executive actions that Biden has taken since taking office on Wednesday. The more than two dozen measures he signed aim in part to circumvent the pandemic, combat climate change and reverse some of Trump’s policies, including the so-called Muslim ban on travelers from certain countries.
Deese asked Congress to approve the American Rescue Plan that Biden presented last week, which proposed $ 1.9 trillion in additional federal funds to tackle the pandemic, provide another round of direct payments to working families and extend unemployment insurance. , among other priorities. But Republicans criticized the proposal, saying it is very expensive and comes right after the $ 900 billion aid package that Congress passed last month.