Sunday, January 23rd, 2021
My Dear America:
We witnessed a rather remarkable performance by President Joe Biden this past week during his Nearly Two Hour Televised News Conference. The President had not given a Wide Ranging Lengthy Press Conference like this one in a Long Time and he was ready, willing and able to handle this roomful of Reporters with ease.
President Biden was even able to handle the incredibly insulting question from James Rosen of Newsmax regarding Americans supposedly being Concerned about Biden's "Cognitive Difficulties" with Grace and Self Control. I couldn't help but wonder how some Republicans and Right Wing Media Hosts felt after Joe Biden's Press Conference put to rest some of the Disingenuous Republican Bullshit Claims purporting to present President Biden as a Dottering Old Fool.
To use a certified Scranton, Pennsylvania Expression that I learned a long time ago from my Mother -
Joe Biden's Marathon Press Conference should have put the "Kibosh" on any Ridiculous Republican Claims that Joe Biden was ready for the Nursing Home.
Being 79 Years Old, myself I find that what Joe Biden has been able to accomplish over the past First Year of his Presidency has been Incredible. And to do what he has done in the face of continuing lack of respect and cooperation from Republicans in Congress makes his numerous accomplishments even more astounding.
Even Joe Biden's Long Standing Friendship with Mitch McConnell has not borne any cooperation from the Republican Leader in the Senate and President Biden did not hide his feelings about McConnell and House Republican Leader, Kevin McCarthy during his Press Conference.
"What are Republicans For," Joe Biden asked in his Press Conference.
"Nothing," was Biden's answer to his own question.
I think that Joe Biden's question may be the most important question of our time. President Biden pointed out proudly that he has genuinely accomplished a lot of things during his year in office.
Indeed he has.
Absent the support of Republicans in Congress Joe Biden has, with the cooperation of many Democratic House and Senate members, signed into law Two Major Pieces of Legislation that Democrats hoped would help to encourage Americans to appreciate the Staggering Epic Accomplishments of Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress during Biden's First Year as President.
How soon Americans seem to have forgotten that despite his promises to get Vaccine's out to Americans, Donald Trump did almost nothing to actually distribute the Covid Vaccines while in office.
I suppose he was too busy trying to upend the Constitution and Illegally Steal the Election from Joe Biden, the Certified Winner of the 2020 Presidential Election.
Once Biden took office, however, he pushed for and through Reconciliation the Democrats in Congress were able to pass into Law "The American Rescue Plan"
The American Rescue Plan was a 1.9 Trillion Dollar Stimulus package designed to help Americans survive during the devastating Covid 19 Pandemic.
Among the benefits Americans received from the American Rescue Plan were the following:
The American Rescue Plan put into place a serious and effective program of Covid Testing and Vaccinations provided Free to those who needed them. In addition money was provided for increasing the effectiveness of Contract Tracing for Covid.
The American Rescue Plan sent out checks for 1400 Dollars to Countless Eligible Americans.
The Plan increased the Child Tax Credit, while making it fully refundable. It also increased the Earned Income Tax Credit and also increased the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.
Unemployment Insurance was extended for those who qualified.
The Rescue Plan provided a number of provisions for support of Small Businesses including a Restaurant Revitalization Program which provided Grants to cover Payroll, Rent, Utilities and other Expenses.
The Plan assisted Americans with Lower Health Insurance Premiums & 100% Federal Cobra Subsidies for out of work Individuals.
The Plan provided Continuing Eviction and Foreclosure Moratoriums
The American Rescue Plan provided money for improvements to help Schools Open Safely.
While the American Rescue Plan has truly done a great deal to improve life in the United States during the Covid Pandemic, it is not alone in providing real progress during the First Year of the Biden Administration. Although Certain Democrats disagreed with some aspects of the the Biden "Build Back Better Program", the Biden Administration was able, with the cooperation and assistance of the Democrats in Congress along with some limited Republican cooperation, to pass "The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal."
The White House issued a Fact Sheet identifying the following as items which it is expected will show significant improvement as a result of the Infrastructure Bill:
"This Historic Legislation will:
Deliver Clean Water to All American Families and eliminate the nations lead service lines.
Ensure Every American has access to Reliable High Speed Internet.
Repair and Rebuild our Roads and Bridges with a focus on Climate Change Mitigation, Resilience, Equity, and Safety for all Users.
Improve Transportation Options for Millions of Americans and Reduce Greenhouse Emissions through the Largest Investment in Public Transit in U.S. History.
Upgrade Our Nations Airports and Ports to Strengthen Our Supply Chains and Prevent Disruptions that have Caused Inflation. This will Improve U.S. Competitiveness, Create More and Better Jobs at these Hubs, and Reduce Emissions.
Make The Largest Investment in Passenger Rail since the Creation of Amtrak.
Build a National Network of Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers.
Upgrade our Power Infrastructure to Deliver Clean, Reliable Energy Across the Country and Deploy Cutting Edge Energy Technology to Achieve a Zero-Emissions Future.
Make our Infrastructure Resilient against the Impacts of Climate Change, Cyber-Attacks and Extreme Weather Events
Deliver the Largest Investment in Tackling Legacy Pollution in American History by Cleaning Up Superfund and Brownfield Sites, Reclaiming Abandoned Mines, and Capping Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells.
Certainly a by product of all of these programs will be the creation of good paying jobs
Clearly President Biden is frustrated as his poll numbers have dipped to low levels in recent weeks.
With all that he has accomplished in his First Year as President with the aid of many Democrats in Congress and a few Brave Republicans willing to face the Wrath of Former President, Donald Trump, he deserves to get more credit for what he has accomplished in his Freshman Year than he has received.
Clearly Biden would like to add the "Build Back Better" Legislation to his list of accomplishments but the Republican refusal to cooperate with him, along with the odd and truly disturbing behavior of Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema seem to make that prospect more and more unlikely.
Certainly Joe Biden does not seem to be giving up on his quest to improve the lives of Americans.
Hopefully Americans will at some point wake up to the fact that Gentleman Joe has already done a lot for them and will, at some point, begin to give Joe Biden and his Democratic Partners in Congress the credit they deserve for accomplishing as much as they have in the short time that Biden has been in the Presidency.
In the meantime it doesn't seem to me that Biden is all that concerned about getting credit for what he has done. He simply wants to get more things accomplished and I would bet that he will begin to try to get "Build Back Better" done on a piece by piece basis instead of one fell swoop.
In the meantime while Republicans continue to accomplish very little perhaps people will begin to recognize the astonishing achievements of the First Year of Joe Biden's Presidency and hopefully give the guy a break and perhaps some appreciation.
Certainly President Biden has it right when it comes to Republican achievements.
Republicans have accomplished nothing over the past year.
Anyone who is happy about that is not thinking clearly.
Hopefully when the time comes in November to vote for Senators and Representatives who are up for Elections in their districts people will think about the fact that during Joe Biden's First year in office Republicans accomplished NOTHING and will vote accordingly.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
No comments:
Post a Comment