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Joe Biden on Friday will sign a pair of executive orders aimed at providing immediate relief to American families struggling with the economic cost of the Covid-19 pandemic and expanding security protections for federal workers.
The first action aims at food insecurity, expanding nutritional programs for low-income families and children. The order would also try to clarify a rule to ensure that unemployed Americans still qualify for unemployment insurance if they refuse a job that would put their health at risk.
The second order aims to expand protections for federal workers, restoring collective bargaining rights and promoting a federal minimum wage of $ 15. To do this, Biden will guide agencies to conduct a review of federal workers who earn less than $ 15. hourly and develop recommendations to increase their wages.
“The American people cannot afford to wait,” said Brian Deese, Biden’s chief economic adviser, in a call with reporters. “Many are on the line, they need help and we are committed to doing everything we can to provide that help as quickly as possible.”
The latest executive actions came a day after a labor department report showed that unemployment insurance claims remained at historically high levels, with 900,000 Americans applying for unemployment insurance last week. The numbers reflected the magnitude of the economic challenges inherited by Biden, amid a resurgence of the coronavirus this winter.
Friday’s actions are part of a wave of executive orders and guidelines that Biden has taken since taking office.
Hours after his inauguration, Biden signed an executive order extending a federal eviction pause until the end of March, a move that will protect millions of Americans struggling to pay rent in the midst of the pandemic. He also instructed federal agencies to extend his moratorium on federally guaranteed mortgage foreclosures and asked the education department to prolong the freeze on federal student loan payments until the end of September.
On Thursday, he unveiled a national “wartime” Covid-19 strategy aimed at increasing vaccine production, creating guidelines for reopening schools and businesses and imposing new requirements for the use of masks.
Biden has long argued that the economic recovery is linked to fighting the coronavirus, an approach totally different from his predecessor, which asked states to lift restrictions even as infections increase.
The centerpiece of Biden’s plan to alleviate economic crises is a $ 1.9 trillion emergency aid package called the American Rescue Plan, which includes $ 1,400 direct payments to Americans, an extension of temporarily high unemployment benefits and billions of dollars for a national vaccination program.
Republicans are already opposing the cost of legislation, raising doubts about whether Biden will be able to attract bipartisan support as he hoped. Several Republicans questioned the need for an additional stimulus package weeks after they passed a $ 900 billion coronavirus relief bill.
Deese emphasized that the president’s unilateral decrees offer only emergency relief and are not a substitute for Congressional action.
“These actions are concrete and will give immediate support to the hard-hit families,” he said. “They are not enough and much, much more is needed.”