Listing and tracking accomplishments by President Joe Biden in 2023, the third year of his presidency.
Economy
Unemployment Rate Dropped To 54-Year Low Under Biden. “The president’s last-minute remarks were added to his schedule Friday morning after the Labor Department announced the U.S. economy created a whopping 517,000 jobs in January, a shockingly high number that underscores a growing and resilient labor market. The unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent, the lowest level since 1969.” [Politico]
National
Biden Ordered Gov’t Agencies To Address Racial Inequality. “President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered the federal government to do more to address racial inequality as the challenges and complexities of systemic racism are again drawing the public’s attention. The order, signed during Black History Month, requires that an initial review into long-standing disparities in government services and treatment that he ordered on his first day in office become an annual requirement for federal agencies.” [AP]
Biden Awarded $800 Million For Road Improvements. “Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a historic $800 million in grant awards for 510 projects through the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program, a record amount of funding to improve roads and address traffic fatalities.” [DOT]
Biden Awarded $2.7 Billion To Improve Rural Electric Infrastructure. “U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the Department is investing $2.7 billion to help 64 electric cooperatives and utilities expand and modernize the nation’s rural electric grid and increase grid security.” [USDA]
Biden Ended National COVID-19 Emergency. “President Joe Biden informed Congress today that he would be ending the dual states of emergency that were declared to help address the Covid pandemic, according to multiple sources.” [Deadline]
Biden Fired The Architect Of The Capitol. “Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton will depart seven years before his term is up under pressure from lawmakers across the Capitol. He faced a crescendo of criticism following a heated oversight hearing last week that centered on an internal watchdog report that cataloged his broad misuse of department resources.” [Politico]
Immigration
Biden Reunified 600th Child Separated From Family By Trump. “Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas released the following statement regarding the Family Reunification Task Force’s ongoing progress: “Today is the second anniversary of the Family Reunification Task Force that President Biden established soon after he assumed office. Thanks to the tireless work of public servants across the federal government and the critical partnership of non-governmental organizations, the Department of Homeland Security and the Task Force it leads has thus far reunited more than 600 children who were separated from their families under the prior administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy.” [DHS]
Biden Launched Welcome Corps Allowing Families To Sponsor Refugees. “The Biden administration this week announced a groundbreaking initiative that will allow everyday Americans to financially sponsor refugees seeking safety in America. While previous private sponsorship efforts by the Biden administration have been more geographically limited, this new Welcome Corps initiative opens up sponsorship opportunities to refugees from all over the world.” [Daily Kos]
Biden Protected Undocumented Immigrants Who Had Labor Rights Violated. “Under the new policy, DHS will streamline its processes for providing up to two years of protection for undocumented workers who report violations of worker rights, as well as a permit to legally seek work.” [Wonkette]
Health Care
Biden Awarded $11 Million For Cancer Screening Disparities. “Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded nearly $11 million to 22 HRSA-funded health centers to improve access to life-saving cancer screenings and early detection services for underserved communities.” [HHS]
Education
Biden Granted $35 Million To Cradle To Career Program In High Needs Communities. “Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced new awards totaling more than $35 million for the Promise Neighborhoods and Project Prevent grant programs. Promise Neighborhoods grants provide coordinated support services and programs to students from low-income backgrounds at every stage of their education from early childhood through their careers.” [DOE]
Native American
Biden Allocated $580 Million To Indian Water Rights Settlements. “The Department of the Interior today announced a nearly $580 million allocation to continue fulfilling settlements of Indian water rights claims using funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Reclamation Water Settlements Fund.” [Interior]
National Security
Biden Ordered Chinese Spy Balloon Shot Down. “This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the high altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in U.S. airspace.” [DOD]
Environment
Biden Sent Team To Respond To East Palestine Train Accident. “Within hours of the Norfolk Southern train derailment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deployed a team to East Palestine to support state and local emergency and environmental response efforts. The Department of Transportation (DOT) also arrived on scene to investigate what led to the derailment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been closely coordinating with the emergency operations center, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, and Federal partners.” [White House]
100,000 Green Jobs Added Since IRA Law Passed. “Between last August, when President Joe Biden’s landmark climate bill became law, and the end of January, companies have announced more than 100,000 clean energy jobs in the US, according to an analysis released Monday,” [Bloomberg]
Biden Protected 9.3 Million Acres Of Forest In Tongass National Forest (Alaska). “The Biden administration on Wednesday restored protections for more than half of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, safeguarding one of the world’s largest intact temperate rainforests from new roads and logging.” [Washington Post]
Biden Banned Mining On 225,000 Acres In Boundary Waters (Minnesota). “The Biden administration imposed a 20-year ban on new mineral development across 225,000 acres of national forest land adjacent to Minnesota’s iconic Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.” [HuffPost]
Biden Launched $50 Million Clean Energy For Communities Program. ” The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today launched a new up to $50 million program to help communities across the country transition to clean energy systems that are reliable, affordable, equitable, and reflective of local priorities.” [DOE]
Biden Granted $42 Million To Develop EV Vehicle Batteries. “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $42 million in funding for 12 projects to strengthen the domestic supply chain for advanced batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs).” [DOE]
Biden Awarded $2 Billion For EV Battery Production. “The Energy Department on Thursday tentatively awarded a $2 billion loan to battery recycling company Redwood Materials, which the company says will allow it to produce enough battery materials to enable the production of more than a million electric vehicles a year.” [Politico]
Foreign Policy
Biden Visited Kyiv To Support Ukraine Vs. Russia. “President Joe Biden slipped into Kyiv on Monday for the first time since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago, demonstrating in dramatic personal fashion his commitment to the country and its struggle as the war enters an uncertain new phase. The highly secretive visit – which took place as air raid sirens could be heard ringing out around Kyiv while Biden walked alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky around the gold-domed St. Michael’s Cathedral – comes at a critical moment in the 12-month conflict, with Russia preparing for an expected spring offensive and Ukraine hoping to soon retake territory.” [CNN]
Biden Sent $85 Million To Assist Syria, Turkey Earthquake Relief. “Since Monday, supplementing the excellent work of our Embassy and Consulate teams, hundreds of additional U.S. personnel have arrived in the region to help save lives and assist those in need. Today we announced $85 million in urgent humanitarian assistance to support these efforts. ” [State Dept.]
Biden Negotiated Release Of Over 200 Nicaraguan Political Prisoners. “Nicaragua has freed 222 political prisoners, all of whom have been flown to the United States, the Biden administration announced Thursday. The prisoners, many of them detained by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega amid a crackdown on critics and political opponents, arrived Thursday at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, the State Department said in a statement.” [Politico]
State Accomplishments
Florida
Biden Funded Cleanup Of Southern Solvents Superfund Site In Tampa. “Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the second wave of approximately $1 billion in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to start new cleanup projects at 22 Superfund sites, including the Southern Solvents site in Tampa, and expedite over 100 other ongoing cleanups across the country.” [EPA]
Pennsylvania
Biden Sent $500 Million To Upgrade Pipes And Remove Lead In PA. “Continuing the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on implementing its economic agenda to deliver real results for the American people, President Biden and Vice President Harris are traveling to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to highlight progress made improving water infrastructure and replacing lead pipes.” [White House]
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.