Some thoughts on… Setting an Agenda

About a third of the way into President Biden’s first 100 days, he has created more than 30 executive orders indicating his top priorities, including:

 Covid-19

•          Rejoining the WHO

•          Establishing a central pandemic coordinator

•          Promoting masks on Federal property and flights

•          Reopening schools

•          Extending enrollment time for Medicaid/  Affordable Care Act

Environment

•          Rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement

•          Placing a moratorium on activities in the Arctic

•          Establishing a National Climate Task Force    

Economy -Increasing federal spending to American companies       

Social Issues

•          Revoking the Pentagon’s ban on transgender people in the military

•          Resuming funding to non-profits providing counseling on abortions

•          Enforcing sex discrimination protection for Federal agencies

•          Establishing a President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology  

Immigration    

•          Revoking restricted entry for Muslim countries

•          Deferring removal of undocumented children brought to US

•          Halting construction of Border Wall

•          Reunifying children separated at the border

The administration is also pushing through legislation for a $1.9 Trillion Covid-19 relief bill which would potentially provide $1400 checks to Americans.  It’s heartening to see an administration working to solve issues addressing the American populace instead of focusing on their personal needs and covering up scandals. 

But Executive Orders are temporary and many of them are reversing measures placed by the previous Administration. Lasting change requires instituting laws and bolstering government services. Yet, as a country, we have pared back government, introducing unforeseen challenges to running the country, since the Federal Government still performs critical functions like disposing nuclear water, feeding the poor and avoiding weather disasters.

In Michael Lewis’ book, The Fifth Risk, he demonstrates how removing expertise in three Departments – Agriculture, Energy and Commerce – has led to situations where the government is “responding to long-term risks with short-term solutions… Creating an existential threat… [from the] innovation that never occurs and the knowledge that is never created, because you have ceased to lay the groundwork for it. It is what you never learned that might have saved you.” Covid-19 has made even more prominent the faults in our social structures.

With a new Presidency, I am wondering where I would focus my agenda.  Following on Michael Lewis’ concept – what are areas i) that need long-term solutions, ii) that may lead to an existential threat of the democracy if not managed properly and iii) can be solved by good government.

·      Enabling Access to Voting.  The 2020 election demonstrated that mail-in ballots, early voting, and secure elections are a necessity for our republic.  In January, Congress introduced H.R.1. – For the People Act of 2021 to ensure future elections are also accessible.  The Act would have the Federal government work with States to modernize voter registration, strengthen early voting and mail voting systems, and Restore the Voting Rights Act.  Arguments against the Bill are that it takes away States rights and potentially leads to voter fraud.  The Bill can be revised to get bi-partisan support.  Without measures that protect voting access, prevent political intervention, and avoid voter fraud, the repression of American voters will aggravate social and racial tension pulling the country further apart.

·      Eradicating Government Corruption.  Since 1995, Transparency International, a global non-profit, has published the Corruption Perceptions Index, a global indicator of public sector corruption. From 2016 to 2020, the US moving from 18th to 25th place in the rankings dropping behind U.A.E. and Bhutan in corruption – a significant decline for an OECD country.  Congress should pass legislation that ensures tax returns are released for public officials before election, debts owed to Foreign nationals are revealed, or tax-payer money spent on personal gain is exposed. Without these ethics measures, citizens’ trust of the system is eroded threatening democracy.

·      Building Information integrity.  George Orwell’s 1984, describe a dystopian world where reality is slanted by the Government to keep people under control.  In our world, where “alternative facts” are encouraged by the advisors to the President, the existential threat is the US ending up as an Orwellian country where citizens cannot agree on the reality around us.  Ironically, Congress is needed to fix a problem that government officials perpetuate.  Partnership between the private sector and Federal policy is needed to flag and stop dishonesty, especially on the internet.  For example, misinformation on the 2020 elections dropped 73% when social media platforms suspended accounts of fewer than 10 people in January of this year.  Without measures to prevent dispersion of deception, voters can be polarized and misled.

Since the 1980’s, as a society we have deprioritized regulation.  President Reagan infamously said – “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.” The sentiment led to over 35 years of dismantling local, State and Federal government, leaving us with weakened regulatory structures. 

Rebuilding government infrastructure in meaningful areas could be the agenda of this Administration. Passing bold, imaginative legislation similar to the Civil Rights Acts passed in the 60’s during the social/ racial conflicts and the Ethics in Government Act passed after President Nixon’s resignation, could help heal the country and prevent erosion of our democracy.