President Biden gave us a roadmap for what his governing policies will look like in the slew of executive orders he has signed in his first 48 hours. Looking at those orders it seems President Biden is going to be very different from Senator Biden. Some of these orders look like they could have come from another Senator whose mittens have been attracting a lot of attention lately. Sometimes the stars align and history finds the right man for the moment. It’s looking more and more like our new President is that man.
Take the order on “Modernizing Regulatory Review.” Biden seems to have found his inner FDR. It’s certainly not the kind of stuff that will make big money donors happy:
Lobbyists and other corporate interests have historically seen OIRA reviews as their last chance to block or delay regulations designed to protect consumers and workers and mandate safety measures. During President Barack Obama’s administration alone, it delayed a mandate for the installation of rear-view cameras on cars for years and watered down rules protecting workers from exposure to dangerous silica dust and regulations governing the disposal of toxic coal ash.
Biden’s order appears set to dramatically overhaul that process, saying regulatory reviews should instead promote “public health and safety, economic growth, social welfare, racial justice, environmental stewardship, human dignity, equity, and the interests of future generations.” It also says OIRA’s director should proactively encourage agencies to develop rules that benefit the public.
“The Game-Changing Biden Order You Haven’t Heard About”
Biden has aggressively undone all of Trump’s racist immigration orders and looks to go further than the Obama administration was willing or able to in creating a fair and just immigration policy.
He has set an ambitious climate change agenda rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and outlined actions:
- Directing all federal agencies to “immediately review and take appropriate action to address” Trump-era policies or regulations that are damaging to the environment or public health.
- Establishing new limits on methane emissions, new vehicle mileage standards and emissions limits, and efficiency standards for appliances.
- Placing a moratorium on Arctic oil and gas leasing, and reviewing boundaries of Utah’s Bears Ears and other national monuments that were changed under Trump.
- Revoking authorization for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
- Re-establishing an Obama-era interagency working group to set a “social cost of carbon,” a metric the government uses to judge the cost of climate damage.
Again Biden’s Climate plan is more far-reaching than that of any previous administrations.
The real test will come with doing away with the filibuster and taking away the power for Republicans to repeat the take no prisoners obstructionism of the Obama era.
Former President Barack Obama called on Thursday for eliminating the filibuster, joining a growing chorus of Democrats who portray the Senate’s signature procedural weapon as an obstacle to social progress that must be abolished if the party captures the Senate and White House.
Obama has learned the lesson of 8 years of Republican obstruction and I’m confident that Biden has as well. With the filibuster gone President Biden will have a fighting chance to enact his policies.
I have to say that so far I’m liking President Biden a lot more than Senator Biden. From his choice of VP to his initial actions, Biden has stepped up to the historic challenge that he has taken on his shoulders. It gives me hope for our Republic and optimism as to our future prospects.