During the 2020 campaign, US President Joe Biden set out an ambitious agenda. One year into his presidency, he has made significant progress on some agenda items but many of the most transformational proposals remain unfulfilled. Let’s see has Biden kept his campaign promises?
Student Debt
During the campaign of US President Joe Biden, he pledged to “forgive all undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt from two- and four-year public colleges and universities and private HBCUs and MSIs for debt-holders earning up to $125,000,” according to PolitiFact’s Biden Promise Tracker. But due to the pandemic, he has repeatedly pushed back the deadline for borrowers to start paying back loans, but he has yet to follow through on related promises. Biden also announced plans to make two-year community colleges tuition-free through a provision in the Build Back Better Act, but that provision was removed from the legislation before the House vote.
Climate Action
During the campaign, Biden said to “put the United States on an irreversible path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050.” In his first year as president, Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, revoked permits for the Keystone XL pipeline, and tightened fuel efficiency standards for vehicles. But an executive order he issued pausing new gas and oil leases on public lands and offshore waters were blocked by a federal court.
With regard to Biden’s climate policy, John Paul Mejia, the national spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, an organization of young people working to combat climate change feels that “Biden is failing us right now. He’s failing millions of young people and millions of voters who took a chance on him in 2020.”
Coronavirus
During the final presidential debate of 2020, Biden took aim at Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said,
“Anyone that is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America,”
When Trump left office, 396,837 U.S. residents had died of COVID-19, per The Atlantic’s COVID Tracking Project. A year into Biden’s presidency, this total has more than doubled, according to CDC data.
However, Biden has received more praise for following through on his vaccine-related promises. During his campaign, he pledged to “get at least 100 million COVID vaccine shots into the arms of the American people” in his first 100 days. In March, he doubled that number to 200 million a goal he met a week early. This number has since grown, with more than 209 million US residents.
Employee Rights
During his campaign, Biden promised to work with Congress to “build worker power to raise wages and secure stronger benefits.” Biden has endorsed legislation such as the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would protect workers’ rights to organize for fair labor standards, but it, too, stalled in the Senate after being passed by the House.
In his first year as president, Biden established a White House Task Force for Worker Organizing and Empowerment, increased the minimum wage for government contractors to $15 an hour, and rolled back several Trump-era anti-union policies. Anderson is keen to see the passage of Build Back Better and the PRO Act, as well as the Equality Act, which would make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity illegal.
Voting Rights
During his campaign, Joe Biden has promised to update the Voting Rights Act and increase election-spending transparency. He supported the For the People Act, which would have revolutionized campaign finance law, election integrity, and voting rights including restoring voting rights to those convicted of felonies after they’ve completed their sentences. The act passed the House, but it fell short in the Senate last June.
