Biden — President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday to improve access to care for children, the disabled, and the elderly.
As Biden gets ready to run for a second term, his decision shows the seriousness and urgency of the situation.
A call to arms
President Joe Biden has directed nearly every government department to improve treatment options without increasing cost through more than 50 executive directives.
Biden has always advocated for lower health-care costs.
Throughout his first term, however, Congress has mostly opposed his objectives.
Before signing the executive order, Biden addressed the Rose Garden, saying:
“We’re using the power of the federal government to get companies to do what’s good for workers and, I might add, good for business, as well.”
“And folks, care workers deserve to make a decent living and that’s a fight I’m willing to have.”
Opposition
Several of the Republican-majority House’s social-spending ideas are vigorously opposed by the White House.
In his budget proposal last month, Biden recommended $750 billion in healthcare financing from Congress.
The president’s proposal is similar to one he called for during his campaign: a “21st Century Caregiving and Education Workforce.”
However, during Biden’s first two years as President of the United States, the government failed to authorize a dramatic redesign of dependent care.
The failure can be attributed to Democrats’ opposition to the higher taxes and expenditure required to make it happen.
According to the White House, campaigners, and congressional Democrats, the measures would stimulate the economy by creating employment and allowing people with dependents greater work flexibility.
A senior administration official informed reporters on the novel measure on Monday.
According to the source, President Biden is doing everything he can to increase his personal access.
“This is a case where the president is working hard on the investment angle, has worked hard with Congress – that has not worked out quite as well,” said the official.
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Costs
The expense of senior and disability care has climbed by 40% in the last decade, according to White House figures.
Spending on child care increased by 26% throughout that time period.
Child care prices have climbed by more than 200% in the preceding three decades.
The White House also cited a Boston Consulting Group research, which projects that if the health-care crisis is not addressed, economic production will plummet by $290 billion per year by 2030.
Furthermore, prior to the worldwide epidemic, the White House claimed that 76% of parents had difficulty finding inexpensive, trustworthy care.
A second term
Biden’s choice to proceed without parliamentary legislation emphasizes the significance of the issue ahead of his reelection campaign.
Regardless of how outraged conservatives are about the price hikes, the White House has long asserted that Biden’s social-policy program is popular among Americans.
With a second term on the horizon, there may be hints of a renewed emphasis on following through on many of the promises he made with his ambitious Build Back Better project.
The concept was too tough to implement even while Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress.
Many components of Biden’s comprehensive social-spending proposal were supported by the Democratic-controlled Congress, but not all of them, most notably the ambitious child-care program.
Susan Rice, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, noted on the call:
“Too many families are struggling to afford or access high-quality care, and too many care workers are struggling to make a living doing this critically important work.”
“The president’s not going to wait to take action to address our nation’s care crisis.”
Order
President Joe Biden allowed Cabinet-level departments to explore grant programs that may be utilized to support child care and long-term care for government project staff in the executive order.
The plan also outlines how they intend to enhance caregiver work quality, expand veteran access to in-home care, increase caregiver unionization, raise compensation for early childhood educators, and increase caregiver access to in-home care.
Furthermore, the White House is considering requiring that businesses seeking government assistance for job creation have broader access to the health-care coverage of their employees.
In March, the Commerce Department directed companies seeking financing from the $52 billion semiconductor manufacturing and research initiative to figure out how they would help their employees with child care.
