Biden vs. Trump: Will Biden’s Executive Orders Truly Benefit our Nation?

Executive Orders Reverse Some Trump-era Policies

Courtesy+of+Gage+Skidmore+and+Wikimedia+Commons

Courtesy of Gage Skidmore and Wikimedia Commons

Jack Grbic, Staff Writer

Since President Joseph Biden took office on January 20th, 2021, he has signed 17 Executive Orders in a nation-wide effort to restore unity within our government. President Biden’s actions as president reflect the administration’s effort to repair the “great damage” with which former President Donald J. Trump troubled our nation. The Executive Orders recently signed by the president have directly correlated with his bold initiative to steer our country out of the dangers of COVID-19 and back into a global power. As the Biden administration attracts positive media during its honeymoon phase, it’s important that the American people address the nitty-gritty specifics of the 17 Executive Orders signed into law, and how these Executive Orders impact our nation. Let’s break down Joe Biden’s major executive actions to combat the pandemic and reverse the damage inflicted by President Trump’s lack of response to the disease.

The foremost of Biden’s Executive Orders have been his direct legislation to “aggressively” combat the pandemic. The decision has restored the United States’ relations with global health security and biodefense at the National Security Council, a group Trump disbanded during this presidency. President Biden has also called for a national effort to commit to social distancing and wearing masks through the “100 days masking challenge,” which encourages all Americans, as well as government officials, to wear masks and lead by example to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Another bold move from the president has been his decision to re-enter the World Health Organization after the Trump administration chose to withdraw the nation’s membership and funding last year.

Biden’s recent legislative package, which consists of a plethora of executive orders, has been designed to revive the nation after months of inactivity in lockdown. The package provides public schools with the equipment necessary to safely allow students to meet in-person, give families and businesses a bridge to economic recovery, and invest in advancing racial equity. Additionally, Biden’s plan provides equal emergency economic relief to working families, communities, and small businesses across the country.

Besides simply reading the mandates of these executive orders, it’s important to understand their benefits for our country. These positive legislative measures imply that their impact will stretch far beyond the perimeters of people affected by the pandemic.

The Biden administration plans on tackling the growing hunger crisis facing 29 million Americans, 12 million of whom are children, by asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consider expanding and lengthening nutrition programs.

Furthermore, President Biden plans on helping 2 million veterans maintain their financial footing by asking the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to consider pausing federal collections on overpayments and debts.

Let’s take a look at the way Biden better reflects the values of our nation as compared to Donald Trump through his decision as president thus far.

For an administration so focused on creating an opportunity for ALL Americans, former President Donald Trump’s decision to ban transgender Americans from entering the military came as a shock to millions of Americans. As of 2016, before Donald Trump proposed the plan, transgender personnel made up 1% of the US military. In my view, it is vital to re-energize industries to encourage passionate Americans, no matter their race, gender, or sexual orientation, to pursue their passion in all aspects, including the military. It’s refreshing to see that Biden intends to reinstate passionate Americans into military service, where they will receive the same treatment and benefits as any other troop. 

Additionally, an important value of President Trump was to ensure that citizens of this country wouldn’t take advantage of government benefits; rather, he wanted citizens to be incentivized to work. Unfortunately, the low minimum wage in this country has actually done the opposite, and dis-incentivized workers from entering the workforce. During these times, in which stimulus packages and other benefits have been offered, unemployed Americans have opted to rely on government benefits, rather than search for a job that doesn’t pay enough. Biden is promoting a $15 minimum wage which displays a positive step to motivate the unemployed to actively search for jobs to speed up the economic recovery of our country.

One of the main reasons President Trump decided to opt out of the World Health Organization was he feared that the organization required too much money to manage diseases that wouldn’t affect the United States. However, since the pandemic devastated our nation, government officials on both ends have found that reentering the World Health Organization is a great idea in strengthening ties with our allies and preventing the further spread of the pandemic globally. In 2019, the United States contributed $400 million to the organization. President Trump emphasized that this was too much money being spent unnecessarily. However, to fight the pandemic, the United States has spent over $6 trillion as of late April 2020. When taking into account the $900 million stimulus package proposed by the House, it is fair to say that on both sides, President Trump’s decision to leave the World Health Organization because it was too expensive seems to have backfired, since the United States ultimately had to contribute trillions of dollars to combat the pandemic on its own.

Back in 2017, Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would cease all participation in the Paris Environmental Agreement due to its possible effects “undermining” the U.S. economy and putting the United States at a permanent disadvantage compared to other global powers. However, Biden’s order to reenter the Paris Agreement appears to create more opportunity for the American economy. Not only would the environment become a larger priority through this agreement, but sources indicate that Biden’s decision to reenter the Paris Agreement could attract 24 million global jobs by 2030, as well as $3 trillion in economic growth. 

When weighing both sides of the Biden vs. Trump argument, it appears that the America Biden has envisioned through his executive orders will call for both national, and international unity to ensure the continued prosperity of our people and the economy as the United States slices through the oppressive vines of the pandemic.