[The Epoch Times, January 24, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Zhang Bei comprehensive report) The one-year anniversary of US President Joe Biden in office. Regarding his ruling performance, some Democrats believe that he has made great achievements in recovering employment and responding to the epidemic; while some Republicans point out the serious inflation during his administration and the chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, commenting that this is “completely a disaster. “.
Democrats believe that the Biden administration has achieved four achievements in its first year in office: recovering the job market; helping the country through the pandemic through the “American Rescue Plan”; CCP virus (COVID-19) The overall response includes providing free masks and testing to the American public; and passing the infrastructure bill.
At a Jan. 20 news conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi first reported that this administration will create 6.4 million jobs in 2021 and bring the unemployment rate down to 3.4 percent. “There’s still a lot to do, but we’ve made tremendous progress this year,” she said.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the Democratic caucus, believes that Biden “has had a very good first year in a very difficult situation” and that after he took office, the United States is fully vaccinated. The number rose from 2 million to over 200 million.
He also said that the “America Rescue Plan” has saved state and local governments in blue and red states across the country, as well as national public health, public safety, public education, public transportation and public housing. The public health infrastructure established by the plan will enable the United States to respond to the Delta and Omicron mutant strains and significantly reduce the number of deaths; the child tax credit benefits included in the plan, large-scale tax cuts for families with children , lift nearly half of America’s poor children out of poverty.
Jeffries also said the bipartisan infrastructure bill, passed under Biden, would help repair bridges, roads, tunnels, airports, water and sewage systems, mass transit, and give America “a first-class infrastructure for the 21st century. “.
Republicans: Inflation is seriously derailing country
However, the spending bill touted by Democrats has been criticized by Republicans.
In an exclusive interview with NTDTV’s “Capitol Report” (Capitol Report), the Republican leader of the House Budget Committee, Jason Smith, said that Biden’s “big money-spending” caused severe inflation.
He also referred to the “American Rescue Program.” “The $2 trillion bill passed in March[last year]was supposed to go to COVID spending,” he said, “but of all the $2 trillion in the bill, less than 9 percent went to COVID. In fact other 91% goes to random projects like spending $2 million to plant trees in Syracuse, New York, and almost $17 million to build a golf course in Palm Beach…”
Smith said the bill added fuel to the current inflation rate, which is over 7%, the highest in nearly 40 years.
He went on to point out that Biden released the latest presidential budget of up to 68 trillion in May last year, which is larger than any budget in U.S. history and led to the largest tax increase in U.S. history. After that, the Biden administration launched another 5.1 trillion “Build Back Better” plan (Build Back Better, referred to as BBB).
“His response to the worst inflation in nearly 40 years was to spend another $5 trillion. You can’t use inflation to get out of inflation, but obviously this administration feels spending is the way they can get out of it. In fact, so Doing that will just push inflation up. If you look at the producer price index (PPI), it was 9.7% just last week, the highest it’s ever been, and that shows that inflation will continue to rise,” Smith said.
Congressional Republican Rep. Ralph Norman (Ralph Norman) bluntly said that Biden’s administration was “completely a disaster” and that the United States “completely derailed” within a year.
Norman told NTDTV’s Capitol Hill Report that he received many “why” questions when he talked to people in the area he represented.
“Why did he keep Americans in Afghanistan (when he pulled out)? Why did he cancel our gas and other[projects]and put Americans out of work? Why did he condone street violence?” Norman said. “The list goes on and on. For example. And why did he allow China to see Taiwan as something on the menu? Russia is doing the same thing in Ukraine, and he (Biden) says maybe some type of invasion or limited invasion is okay. “
Norman also mentioned inflation. “People want an outcome that’s pro-constitutional, they want to get back into their lives,” he said. “With inflation rising, people are paying the price today, and they’re feeling it in their pockets.”
Biden’s 2022 plan
In 2022, the Biden administration will continue to promote the legislation of the BBB plan. Biden said at a press conference on the 19th, “We can sign most of the BBB bill into law.”
Pelosi also expressed the same idea on the 20th. Earlier this week, a NTD reporter asked Jeffries, chairman of the Democratic Caucus, if he was considering or working on a scaled-down version of the bill. Negotiations are ongoing, and if the entire bill cannot be passed, they are also very hopeful that they will push through the most important parts of the bill, Jeffries said.
Also, with some previously passed funding bills due in February, Pelosi said they will focus on passing a long-term government funding bill. She also said Democrats will continue to help boost jobs, further ease supply chain constraints and further implement Biden’s infrastructure laws.
Responsible editor: Li Qiong#