Whether Joe Biden was your first choice for the Democratic nomination or your last choice (or somewhere in between) there are many, many reasons to be excited about a Biden presidency.
In this series, I will list 100 reasons, 1 by 1, to be excited about a Joe Biden presidency.
Maybe you would like to be more excited about Joe. Maybe you want to learn more. Maybe you already love Joe (like me) and want to have facts to share with your friends about him. Whatever the reason, this series is designed to share information and excitement about our future president.
Reason #5 to be excited about Joe Biden: Biden Has a Plan For Covid-19
First, what he has already done differently:
In January, Biden says, he was sounding the alarm about the coronavirus while Trump assured Americans the pandemic was “totally under control.”
In February, Biden says he demanded full disclosure from the Chinese government while Trump praised President Xi Jinping and said the country where the crisis began was “doing very well.”
Biden has pushed for more investment in testing and for using the authority of the Defense Production Act to ramp up manufacturing of protective gear; Trump has often demurred on those initiatives and, these days, complains that too much testing has led to a higher number of confirmed cases, which makes him look bad.
What does Biden plant to do?
At the heart of the proposal:
- A decisive public health response that ensures the wide availability of free testing; the elimination of all cost barriers to preventive care and treatment for COVID-19; the development of a vaccine; and the full deployment and operation of necessary supplies, personnel, and facilities.
- A decisive economic response that starts with emergency paid leave for all those affected by the outbreak and gives all necessary help to workers, families, and small businesses that are hit hard by this crisis. Make no mistake: this will require an immediate set of ambitious and progressive economic measures, and further decisive action to address the larger macro-economic shock from this outbreak.
Here are just some of the specific things:
- Establish a public-private “pandemic testing board” to scale up and allocate testing across the country.
- Create a state and local government emergency fund that would pay for medical supplies, hiring more health care workers, and providing overtime pay for certain essential workers.
- Eliminate cost-sharing for Covid-19 testing and treatment — and change the law so that provision would apply to future public health emergencies.
- Set minimum standards for the number of testing sites in each state, including 10 mobile or drive-through sites.
- Establish a national public health jobs corps, which would employ at least 100,000 people to do contact tracing.
Here are things that separate it from what we currently have:
“The big differences are the emphasis on science and experts, versus politics and politicians, and more coordination and leadership at the federal level,” Kates said.
Trump is trying to repeal Obamacare during Covid-19. Biden wants to expand it.
To borrow Biden’s words from his Covid-19 remarks: It didn’t have to be this way. In March, he called these short-term plans “junk” and promised he would reverse the sabotage of Obamacare overseen by his opponent.
“During a public health emergency that could touch anyone, anywhere, Americans deserve a government that strives to expand access to health care and ensure the best possible care,” the former veep said. “They don’t want or need junk.”
You can read all the details of his plan here. There is a lot more to it than just what I listed here.
Why is this a sign that Biden will be a great president? For one thing we NEED a great plan to deal with this and we don’t have one For another, this plan is based on the advice of experts. Biden listens to people who know what to do. THAT makes a great president!
want to donate to help Biden win?
did you miss any of our 100 days? Here they are:
Day 1: Biden’s Tax Plan
Day 2: Gay Marriage
Day 3: Biden’s FDR Sized presidency
Day 4: Biden is a mensch
