Barring some 11th hour drama in the House, President Biden is expected to sign his $1.8 trillion American Rescue Plan into law this week. It’s a landmark achievement that gives us reason to hope our government may not be broken after all.
Although he’s only been in office 46 days, Biden already has done more to lift the nation’s morale and make the economy work for everyone than his predecessor managed in four turbulent years. In case we’ve forgotten, this is what a real president looks like.
Biden’s plan focuses intently on defeating the coronavirus pandemic that has frozen normal life for a full year. It provides ample money to ramp up vaccinations, enable schools to reopen, help people who have lost their jobs and businesses, keep state and local governments running – all of which will speed economic recovery.
In shaping and steering the package through Congress, Biden has drawn on a deep reservoir of political experience and cordial relationships. He also has been abetted by qualified and competent White House staff (another contrast with the man he replaced). He has radiated calm and showed impressive discipline in ignoring political distractions and media sideshows to deliver swiftly on his core campaign promise.
The record will show the relief bill passed with almost zero votes from Republicans. But it will also show that Biden got the job done without vilifying his opponents or deepening the country’s paralyzing cultural rifts.
Plenty of pragmatic progressives – myself included – have misgivings about parts of the bill. Its cash payments are not well-targeted, and $350 billion appears to be more than state and local governments actually need. Those dollars would be better spent on science and technology, high skills for non-college workers, clean energy infrastructure and other essential public investments. Amid $5-6 trillion deficits and cascading public debt, we could face some difficult fiscal adjustments in the years ahead.
On the other hand, the Biden package is deeply progressive. It throws lifelines to vulnerable Americans who have borne the brunt of the virus and the Covid recession: the old, low-income workers, poor and minority communities with severe health challenges and hungry families. Through an expanded child tax credit, the bill also would create the equivalent of a child allowance that is expected to cut child poverty in half.
Policy disagreements aside, Biden correctly gauged the magnitude of the nation’s health and economic emergency. After a long, grinding year of loss, suffering and social isolation, his instinct to go big is right. So is his desire to cultivate national “unity” and reach out to reasonable Republicans, who are beset by extremists in their party.
This is what governing in a Constitutional democracy is supposed to look like. The public seems to approve, even if Biden’s left-wing detractors don’t. The most recent AP poll shows the president’s approval rating hitting 60 percent.
By clearing his first big hurdle, Biden has dealt himself a strong political hand for the next one: Winning passage of his coming “Build Back Better” plan for building a more just, clean and resilient U.S. economy.
This piece was also published on Medium.
