Here is the Biden administration’s economic team
Who are the future economic ministers of US President Joe Biden. The New York Times insight
With his victory recognized by Congress and his party set to control both the House and the Senate, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. moved on Thursday to complete his cabinet, while his aides and allies worked out plans to an ambitious legislative program with a $ 2,000 stimulus agenda for Americans, writes the NYT .
Just hours after the House and Senate confirmed his election and President Trump said he would peacefully transfer power, Biden announced Judge Merrick B. Garland as his Attorney General and selected three candidates to run the Department. del Lavoro, the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration.
The president-elect's ability to get key parts of his agenda approved and confirm his cabinet selections received a significant boost this week as Democrats grabbed two Senate seats in Georgia, resulting in a 50% split. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has the power to cast the playoff vote, which would give Democrats control of the House.
As part of what he has promised will be an upcoming round of economic assistance, Biden is expected to move quickly to get $ 2,000 in incentives passed – which was a big focus in the Georgia election – along with expanded unemployment benefits, government aid. state and local and additional aid for small businesses.
But despite democratic control, the scope of his ambitions will be somewhat limited by his party's moderates, as well as a much thinner majority than that of his predecessor, President Barack Obama.
In the House, Democrats will only have a 12-seat lead, potentially dampening the multibillion-dollar ambitions Biden set out in the 2020 campaign to expand healthcare, reduce economic inequalities and fight climate change, as well as scope of his proposals to raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy.
However, even a tenuous grip on power gives Biden far more ability to carry on his agenda, and to assemble his favorite team of cabinet secretaries and other high-level advisors, than the alternative his aides had planned so far. since the November elections: at least one loss in Georgia and a Republican-controlled Senate who seemed destined to resist most of his proposals.
"When you are in the majority, you have a chance to really play up front," said Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, who will be chairman of the Finance Committee after Biden's inauguration.
Biden has repeatedly expressed hope that he can form two-party coalitions to pass legislation, which could be strained by Republican reactions to Democratic efforts to indict Mr. Trump in his final weeks in office for his role in the insurgency of Wednesday at the Capitol. Biden described this rampage as internal terrorism but refused to respond to calls to remove Trump from the presidency.
Biden continued Thursday with the selection of senior cabinet officials, including Judge Garland, whom Republicans had blocked for a seat on the Supreme Court when Obama appointed him in 2016, after Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, he had refused to hold hearings or to vote on the nomination.
Biden said Judge Garland, along with other candidates for top Justice Department posts, would help "restore the Department of Justice's honor, integrity, independence to this nation." It was severely damaged ”.
"I want to make it clear to those leading this department who he will serve," Mr. Biden said Thursday at an event in Wilmington, Del. “You won't work for me. You are neither the president nor the vice president's attorney. His loyalty is not to me. It is up to the law, to the Constitution, to the people of this nation, to guarantee justice ”.
Biden also said he will appoint three senior economic officials – Gina M. Raimondo as Secretary of Commerce, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh as Labor Secretary, and Isabel Guzman, an Obama administration veteran and California office director. of the Small Business Advocate, to manage the Small Business Administration.
These positions, while not as high-profile as the Attorney General, will play a critical role in the Biden administration given the power these agencies wield over workplace conditions, promoting American businesses and providing aid to small businesses. Walsh has significant unions support, reflecting Biden's plan to focus on workers, while Ms. Guzman spent years as a small business attorney. Mrs. Raimondo is a rising star of the Democratic Party.
Biden vowed to reinvigorate the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration – part of the Department of Labor – which has been criticized for failing to protect workers during the pandemic, including through poor control of workplaces such as factories. of meat packaging. And it has pledged to provide more financial aid to small businesses, especially those run by black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American owners.
"This team will help us emerge from the most unfair economic and employment crisis in modern history by building an economy where every American is involved in the deal," Biden said in a statement. "They share my belief that the middle class built this country and that the unions built the middle class." They know how to work with states, cities, small towns and tribal communities, along with jobs, entrepreneurs and businesses to do something for American workers. "
The Democrat-controlled Senate will likely expedite consideration of the new president's political appointments. Candidates who expected to encounter blocs – such as Neera Tanden, a fierce criticism of Republican senators and Biden's choice to oversee the Bureau of Management and Budget – now seem much more likely to have confirmation.
Prior to Tuesday's election, some Democrats expressed concern that Judge Garland's choice would allow a Republican-controlled Senate to replace him in a major court. Now that the Democrats are in control, that's no longer a concern.
It will also allow Biden to appoint and confirm other judges as well, including Supreme Court justices, if an opening occurs in the next two years.
More generally, the president-elect and his team are creating higher expectations for a legislative agenda now that his party controls Congress. Efforts like the expansion of the Affordable Care Act and an ambitious review of the nation's immigration laws are more likely than they were with the Senate under Republican control. Several immigration advocacy groups have released statements urging Biden to quickly put the Democrats' earnings to good use.
But Biden's aides – and the president-elect himself – are wary of moving too aggressively. Both chambers remain tightly divided, meaning the loss of a few Democratic votes could block a bill that moderates the view as too radical, even if it employs a parliamentary maneuver – such as Trump's 2017 tax cuts – that allows you to move to the Senate without facing obstruction.
The first big test of Biden's efforts in Congress will likely be another coronavirus reduction bill, which provides greater economic stimulus, additional aid to individuals and businesses, and extra funding for vaccine distribution. and other responses to the pandemic.
Wyden, whose Finance Committee will play a crucial role in incentive legislation, said he will push to include a review of the nation's unemployment benefit system, which is administered by the states and has struggled to process claims and payments. Biden's business team is preparing to work closely with Wyden and other Congressional leaders on drafting a bill.
The prospect of further aid from Congress under Democratic control has meant that economic pundits have raised their hopes for growth in 2021, up to 6 percent, which would be the fastest rate since the Reagan administration.
If Democrats can push through additional stimulus of about $ 1 trillion, they would add about a percentage point to gross domestic product growth throughout 2021, depending on the timing, said Michelle Meyer, head of the U.S. economy at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
"This leaves us flirting with nearly 6 percent growth," Ms. Meyer said. "These are very large dollar amounts."
But some Federal Reserve officials were more cautious, suggesting Thursday that government spending may be dampened by political reality.
"I don't think it's a blank check for the Democrats, but they will be able to do more than they could otherwise," said James Bullard, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. "When parties take control of all three seats of power, ”he said,“ are starting to fight within the party in ways you wouldn't expect ”.
Biden will almost certainly fight to get approval for its comprehensive climate change agenda, which includes $ 2 trillion in spending on green initiatives and eliminating greenhouse gas pollution by 2050. But it is still expected to use the first laws to push hundreds of billions of dollars in renewable energy spending as part of stimulus and infrastructure measures, including potentially efforts to promote high-speed rail and the construction of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations and 1.5 million new energy-efficient homes.
Health policy could also prove to be a challenge. Biden has repeatedly campaigned to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, and even a slim majority in Congress should make some parts of that possible. There is strong support among Democrats for increasing subsidies in the health insurance market and interest in expanding coverage to more low-income Americans in states that haven't expanded Medicaid.
Broader structural change, however, will still face significant obstacles. Biden is in favor of allowing all Americans the choice to sign up for a government-run insurance plan, a policy known as a public option. This policy split the democratic caucus when it was discussed in 2010, and it may not be feasible to go through using the reconciliation process. His proposal to lower the Medicare entry age to 60 may also divide Democrats politically.
But some health issues could prove unifying, said Wyden, whose committee oversees spending on Medicare and Medicaid, on Thursday. Democrats are likely to move quickly to spend more on vaccine deployment as the nation watches the pandemic reignite again.
(Extract from the press review of Eprcomunicazione )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/amministrazione-biden-economia/ on Sun, 10 Jan 2021 06:48:38 +0000.