Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. This is not limited to days alone or specific hours of the day such as day and night, but every second in life counts and little drops of water make an ocean. It will be one year on January 20th, since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice-President of the United States of America. One year is good enough to measure the contributions made by any administration especially in America. This article brings under review the achievements of the Biden-Harris administration in one year.
One of the greatest achievements of the Biden administration is the enthronement of peace within and without America and stability in the economy. Economic activities thrive in the atmosphere of peace.
COVID-19
It is crystal clear to all Americans how aggressively the Biden administration handled the menace of the COVID-19 pandemic. Science was allowed to have its way, and wisdom applied in making Americans appreciate the need for a united force to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The level of hesitancy among the people has reduced drastically, as a result of the successful building of confidence in people with increase in the level of trust that exists hitherto between the providers and members of the public. In the words of President Joe Biden on the readiness and preparation of his administration to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the Omicron variant, “And I’ll give it to you straight, as I promised you I always would: We’re going to see, as you all have been hearing, continued rise in cases. Omicron is very transmissible — transmissible variant, but much different than anything we’ve seen before. And — but you can protect yourself. And you should protect yourself, quite frankly. Get vaccinated. Get boosted. There’s plenty of booster shots. Wear a mask while you’re in public. Because what we know is this: The impact from the rising cases depends on the effect on the person based on whether that person — what their vaccination status is.” In addition to the efforts of the Biden administration to empower Americans against COVID-19, especially the new variant, the White House will distribute half a billion free, at-home COVID tests to American households.
January 6th Insurrection
There is no shying away from the fact that the rubbles of the January 6th insurrection against Capitol Hill are still around, and rather than allow this to distract the Biden administration, there is a display of resilience and creativity that has made opposition to become a stepping stone. In the words of Joe Biden, while addressing the Congress on the one year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection against Capitol Hill: “To state the obvious, one year ago today, in this sacred place, democracy was attacked — simply attacked. The will of the people was under assault. The Constitution — our Constitution — faced the gravest of threats. Outnumbered and in the face of a brutal attack, the Capitol Police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, the National Guard, and other brave law enforcement officials saved the rule of law. Our democracy held. We the people endured. And we the people prevailed. For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol. But they failed. They failed.” It is interesting to know also that investigations are ongoing towards unraveling the truth behind the causes and the masterminders of the insurrection, and with a view to forestalling future occurrences of what constitutes the desecration of the American citadel of democracy, Capitol Hill.
Infrastructure
The Biden administration has succeeded in the area of infrastructure development. Since President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris Administration has hit the ground running to deliver results. The Administration has made key progress towards implementing the largest long-term investment in America’s infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century.
Economy
The U.S. government responded to the COVID crisis when it enacted a number of policies to provide fiscal stimulus to the economy and relief to those affected by this global disaster. They did so well in helping Americans, especially the middle class workers, to cope with the effects of COVID-19 by putting extra money in their pockets. According to Matthew A. Winkler, with Bloomberg, “U.S. financial markets are outperforming the world by the biggest margin in the 21st century, and with good reason: America’s economy improved more in Joe Biden’s first 12 months than any president during the past 50 years notwithstanding the contrary media narrative contributing to dour public opinion.” The Small Business Administration is also invigorated to enable it to perform optimally by helping small businesses, both start-ups and those that are already existing. The Biden administration also responded swiftly to the raging inflation problem by increasing social security benefits. This was a stitch in time that saved a lot. The Biden administration also considered bringing relief to students who are burdened by student loan debts. President Biden extended student loan relief several times.
Unemployment
The administration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris performs so well in the area of unemployment as many Americans who were on unemployment benefits chose to return to work because of the enabling environment created by the Biden-Harris Administration. According to President Joe Biden, “Today, we received further evidence that our jobs recovery is one of the strongest ever. The average number of Americans filing for unemployment over the last four weeks is now at its lowest level since 1969. When I took office, over 18 million were receiving unemployment benefits, today only 2 million are. We’ve added nearly six million jobs this year – the most of any first year president in history. That’s good news for the millions of families who are back to work and will have a happier holiday season this year.”
Voting Rights
Voting rights are the threshold of democracy and sacrosanct to the provisions of the Constitution, which makes it an inalienable right for Americans who have attained the voting age, regardless of race and political affiliations, to exercise their franchise in electing people into elective positions or offices without intimidations or deprivations from any quarters. In the words of President Joe Biden on the occasion of the Martin Luther King holiday: “On this federal holiday that honors him [MLK], it’s not just enough to praise him. We must commit to his unfinished work to deliver jobs and justice, to protect the sacred right to vote. The attack on our democracy is real, from the January 6th insurrection to the onslaught of Republicans’ anti-voting laws in a number of states. It’s no longer about who doesn’t get to vote. It’s about whether your vote counts at all. It’s about two insidious things, voter suppression and election subversion.”
Unity and Justice
In the areas of justice and equality, the Biden administration has done so well in bridging the gap that was created by his predecessor, whereby Americans were widely divided, by building trust and confidence in the American people. The justice system is performing well as so many landmark cases have been concluded such as the case of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Justice was not just done but it was seen as done. President Biden says, “”We can join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature. For without unity there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.”
The administration also did throw its weight on the right to choose in abortion matters. An example is the legal battle in the state of Texas. According to the New York Times, “President Biden excoriated the Supreme Court’s refusal to block a Texas law that prohibits abortion after six weeks, saying that it “unleashes unconstitutional chaos” against women and vowing that his administration would investigate how the federal government could protect existing constitutional abortion rights.”
The administration of Joe Biden did so well in an effort to eradicate, or reduce to the minimum, racism against Asians. A legislation was passed to outlaw inimical treatment against Asians in America. President Joe Biden said, “Too many Asian Americans have been walking up and down the streets and worrying, waking up each morning the past year feeling their safety and the safety of their loved ones are at stake. They’ve been attacked, blamed, scapegoated, and harassed. They’ve been verbally assaulted, physically assaulted, killed. The conversation we had today with the AAPI leaders, and that we’re hearing all across the country, is that hate and violence often hide in plain sight. And it’s often met with silence. That’s been true throughout our history, but that has to change — because our silence is complicity. We cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act.”
Ending the War in Afghanistan and Evacuation of Troops
The successful evacuation of the American troops from Afghanistan is a plus. In the words of President Joe Biden: “The United States ended 20 years of war in Afghanistan — the longest war in American history. We completed one of the biggest airlifts in history, with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety. That number is more than double what most experts thought were possible. No nation — no nation has ever done anything like it in all of history. Only the United States had the capacity and the will and the ability to do it, and we did it today.”
Immigration
According to the Pew Research Center: “Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, his administration has acted on a number of fronts to reverse Trump-era restrictions on immigration to the United States. The steps include plans to boost refugee admission, preserving deportation relief for unauthorized immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and not enforcing the “public charge” rule that denies green cards to immigrants who might use public benefits like Medicaid. Biden’s biggest immigration proposal to date would allow more new immigrants into the U.S. while giving millions of unauthorized immigrants who are already in the country a pathway to legal status.”
Intervention in Natural Disasters
The Biden administration also responded positively and timely to those states that suffered from natural disasters, states such as Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. According to the Washington Post, “In his first year in office, Biden has embraced natural disasters, traveling to snow- and rain- and wind-ravaged communities on trips that not only fulfill his basic duties as president, but also allow him to demonstrate what he casts as his signature calling cards — compassion and competence. The president’s handling of such disasters also lets him push a message that has been central to his appeal since he was a candidate: That government can work for its people and that bipartisanship, at least in moments of crisis, still exists.”
Media Relations
Press freedom is a pivot on which the wheels of democracy rotate. It enhances the relationship between the government and the people, thereby keeping the people abreast of developments and granting them the ability to respond promptly to matters affecting them. There is no exaggerating the fact that the administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris has introduced policies and measures that guarantee press freedom. So there is a cordial relationship between the administration of Joe Biden and the press thereby blocking the avenues for falsehood and misinformation. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) alludes to this assertion: “President Joe Biden’s approach to U.S. media is a stark contrast to Donald Trump’s vicious rhetoric. The first year of the Biden administration’s relationship with the U.S. press has been an almost complete reversal of the Trump administration’s unprecedentedly pervasive and damaging hostility, which seriously damaged the news media’s credibility and often spread misinformation around the world.”
Foreign Policy
The foreign policy of the Biden administration, which has its main focus on human rights, human dignity, equality, fair play, and justice, has been strictly adhered to and exemplified with contacts made with most of the developing countries such as Kenya and Nigeria to mention just a few.
America, within the period under review, has succeeded in regaining her position of leadership back among the comity of nations. There is nothing that is good as leading with respect for the dignity of others, and that is the ideal that leadership of America follows, respect for the rule of law and leading by the power of example and not the example of power. That is the nucleus of the administration of President Biden and Vice-President Harris. According to Wikipedia, “The foreign policy of the Joe Biden administration emphasizes repairing the U.S.’s alliances, which Biden says had been damaged under the Trump administration and returning the U.S. to a “position of trusted leadership” among world democracies to counter challenges from Russia and China. As president, Biden has sought to strengthen the transatlantic alliance between the U.S. and Europe, and he recommitted the U.S. to the NATO alliance and collective security. Biden returned the U.S. to the Paris Climate Agreement and has taken other steps to combat climate change. His administration emphasizes international cooperation to combat the COVID-19 pandemic as well as U.S. defenses against foreign-sponsored cyberattacks and cyberespionage.”
The administration also checkmated the autocratic stance of China and Russia by sending strong warnings about repercussions or consequences to them should they disregard the sovereignty of countries around them and the sanctity of human rights. A good example is the telephone conversation President Biden had with the President of Russia on the Ukraine issue.
Also, there has been a cordial relationship between America and the World Health Organization, and this, to a large extent, has helped America in her efforts at coping with COVID-19, especially the new Omicron variant.
The foreign policy of the Biden administration has deescalated violence, especially in the Middle East, though there still remains a misunderstanding between America and Syria, Iran, and some other Arab countries, most especially because of the human rights violations in these places, and with Iran, the problem of armaments.
Between January 20, 2021 and now, Americans in particular and the world in general have heaved a sigh of relief from threats and rumors of war engineered by provocative statements made by the former President Donald Trump to other world leaders.
It is also hoped that the Israeli-Palestian conflict on which Joe Biden made promises while he was running for office shall be given due attention as positive steps taken in the direction of finding a lasting solution to the conflict that has become intractable and lingered for decades.
Conclusion
America is the leader of the world any time and any day, but wisdom is profitable to direct and that is what the Biden-Harris administration epitomizes. When things go wrong, Americans should not go with them. Americans also know better that you can only change a losing game but not a winning one. The Biden administration is indeed on a rescue mission, and evidences are on ground that the soul of America has been rescued, but woe to him who is at ease.
From the above revelation as well as evidence supporting the milestone achievements of the Biden-Harris administration in one year, one cannot but hope that the years ahead will usher in greater achievements.
The attack on democracy is ongoing and on an increase. But just as darkness cannot prevail over light, so shall the truth prevail.
Happy One-Year Anniversary! May God bless America.
Samuel ‘Tunji Adeyanju
Sharon S. Johnson
Photo of money by Avinash Kumar on Unsplash
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