America, it appears we have a real president again.
President-elect Joe Biden yesterday unveiled an ambitious agenda for getting the pandemic under control, helping jobless Americans recover through the Covid recession, throwing a lifeline to millions of small businesses, strengthening the safety net for our most vulnerable citizens, and opening public schools.
PPI applauds the President-elect for stepping boldly into a total vacuum of leadership in Washington. His decision to “go big” with a $1.9 trillion package is just the jolt we need to galvanize national action and spur the sharing of resources to vaccinate Americans faster, protect the vulnerable and speed up economic recovery.
Above all, it’s a welcome sign that experience, honesty and compassion are returning to the White House after a four-year absence. In Joe Biden, Americans will once again have a leader who can make their government work for them.
The details of the Biden plan will be worked out in the weeks ahead. What follows are reactions by PPI policy analysts to its key proposals.
History tells us that Biden’s front-loaded $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus plan is essential for helping the U.S. economy accelerate out of the Covid Recession and bring jobs back to millions of Americans. Small businesses, especially, will benefit from the flow of money to poor and middle-class Americans. And if the country has to take on more deficits, this period of low interest rates is the perfect time.
The Biden plan does come with some important risks. We may be facing a weaker dollar down the road, which would lead to rising import prices and higher inflation. Nevertheless, those potential problems are worthwhile given the magnitude of the current crisis. – Dr. Michael Mandel, Chief Economic Strategist
President-Elect Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan extends the 15% increase in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and proposes additional $3 billion in funding for the Women, Infant and Children program, both programs are incredibly essential to supporting the more than 30 million adults and over 12 million children suffering from food insecurity in the United States. The plan also includes $350 billion in aid to state and local governments which is critically needed during this economic downturn because many cities and local governments use those flexible dollars to support their anti-hunger initiatives including food pantries, senior nutrition and other nutrition programming. – Crystal Swann, Senior Policy Fellow
The American Rescue Plan is ambitious and boldly prioritizes the needs of working families and those struggling the most during this Covid recession. PPI supports President-elect Biden’s call for an increase in the minimum wage to $15, with a phased approach that takes into account regional differences. The expansions of the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit will reduce child poverty by an estimated 50 percent and alleviate economic hardship for workers without children. The Rescue Plan also has critical support for housing and unemployment, provides funding for childcare, and extends paid family and sick leave for workers affected by the pandemic through September, expanding these benefits to cover an additional 100 million workers. We encourage Congress to move forward swiftly to provide this relief to the American people. – Veronica Goodman, Social Policy Director
It’s refreshing to see the Biden-Harris administration release a policy plan that meets the gravity of this moment. After 20 million Americans have been infected with and almost 400,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, it’s clear that we need policies that will stem the tide of the raging pandemic. A national vaccination effort as proposed by President-elect Joe Biden is the quickest way to get back to normal life and improve the economy.
I am pleased to see the incoming administration prioritize many good policies including increasing surveillance of virus mutations, using the National Guard and the Defense Production Act to support vaccination and testing efforts, and investing $20 billion dollars in the ‘last mile’ of vaccine distribution to get it into more people’s arms faster. While the darkest days of the pandemic may still lie ahead, the plan put forth by the Biden-Harris administration is the quickest way to end this pandemic once and for all. – Arielle Kane, Director of Health Care
President-elect Biden should be commended for offering an ambitious action plan to end the covid pandemic and save the American economy. If even a fraction of these new relief measures were enacted, they would cement the United States’ fiscal response to the pandemic recession as the largest in the world. PPI also applauds the president-elect’s commitment to pursue automatic triggers and stands ready to support those efforts however we can. Lawmakers should enact such mechanisms to provide economic support consistent with the real needs of our economy while preserving fiscal space for the next component of Biden’s recovery agenda. Building back better will require making unprecedented investments in infrastructure and scientific research to mitigate climate change and lay the foundation for long-term growth. – Ben Ritz, Director of the Center for Funding America’s Future
