Biden’s Legislative Achievements | The Epoch Times
During President Joe Biden’s first two years in office, as Democrats held congressional control, many of his key legislative initiatives were successfully enacted.
On January 20, President Joe Biden will depart from the White House after signing a series of significant legislative items into law.
However, the bulk of his legislative achievements occurred between January 2021 and January 2023, when Democrats managed both the Senate and House.
The following laws will be remembered as hallmarks of Biden’s time in office. The first two were passed using a process known as reconciliation, which allows for more streamlined passage of legislation related to taxation, spending, and the national debt. This method bypasses the filibuster in the Senate and restricts amendments, providing a strategic advantage.
American Rescue Plan
Biden’s inaugural major legislation was a $1.9 trillion package enacted in 2021 aimed at providing relief from COVID-19 for individuals and businesses. This law featured one-time $1,400 stimulus payments for qualifying individuals, depending on their income and household status.
Furthermore, it temporarily increased the child tax credit to $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for those aged 6 to 18. Additionally, the earned-income tax credit was raised from $543 to $1,502.
The legislation also extended the federal emergency unemployment supplement checks through September of that year and raised weekly unemployment benefits by $300.
Critics from the Republican side labeled the bill as overly expensive, arguing that it fueled rising inflation.
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Jason Smith, the Republican Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, remarked in a 2022 statement that the bill resulted in “disastrous consequences.”
“If President Biden won’t heed Republican warnings about the inflationary impact of his spending, perhaps he will listen to the tens of millions of Americans living under the crushing burden of the highest spike in prices in forty years,” Smith stated.
Inflation Reduction Act
The 2022 bill encompassed hundreds of billions of dollars aimed at addressing climate change, prescription drug pricing, and taxes. The Biden administration has heralded it as the most significant investment related to climate issues in American history.
Originally named the Build Back Better Act, this legislation fulfilled key campaign promises from Biden, particularly regarding climate change mitigation.
It included tax incentives for electric vehicles and other green energy solutions, as well as a 15 percent tax on specific corporations.
The bill also set a cap on insulin co-pays for seniors at $35.
Remarkably, no Republicans supported the legislation.
With a Republican-majority Congress expected to repeal parts of this law, concerns about its future linger.
Jodey Arrington, Chairman of the House Budget Committee (R-Texas), attributed struggles with “high energy and medical bills, including skyrocketing Medicare Part D premiums for seniors, an economy on the verge of recession, and the highest national debt in our nation’s history” to this legislation.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
President Donald Trump sought significant infrastructure reform during his presidency, but these efforts did not culminate until Biden enacted a $1.2 trillion law to tackle the nation’s infrastructure challenges.
When infrastructure discussions were ongoing, many conservative Republicans objected to the hefty $1.5 trillion in costs and resisted increasing the federal gas tax. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, Congress redirected its focus towards immediate economic impacts and public health concerns.
Officially recognized as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, this law allocated funds as follows: $365 billion to the Federal Highway Administration, $107 billion to the Federal Transit Administration, $102 billion to the Federal Railroad Administration, $25 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration, among finances for various other agencies.
Eight Republicans supported this bill in the House, while 19 did so in the Senate.
PACT Act
Passed with overwhelming support in both the House and Senate and established in 2022, the PACT Act expanded protections for military veterans exposed to toxic substances and burn pits.
Dubbed the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, it represents “perhaps the largest healthcare and benefit expansion” in the history of the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to agency statements.
This legislation is set to remain active through 2032.
Fiscal Responsibility Act
This act temporarily suspended the debt ceiling until January 2025, although the U.S. is not expected to encounter its borrowing limit for several months, with exact timings yet to be clarified.
The 2023 legislation emerged from negotiations involving former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Biden.
More Democrats than Republicans voted against the measure, which involved, among other things, rescinding unspent COVID-19 relief funds.
Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act
Biden’s presidency will be intrinsically linked to the events of January 6, 2021, leading to the creation of this 2022 bipartisan measure. It reformed the Electoral Count Act, which dictates the timing, date, and processes by which Congress certifies elections.
Signed into law as part of a broader omnibus bill that included government funding, this reform reflects one of Biden’s campaign promises: to uphold American democracy.
The bill was a response to the objections voiced by Republican legislators during the certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory on January 6, when pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, causing significant delays.
This legislation stipulated an increase in the necessary number of members required to object to the certification of a state’s electoral votes—one-fifth of both the House and Senate members, along with a requirement for more Senators to endorse an objection. Previously, only one member from each chamber was needed to trigger a vote on the objection.
No objections were raised during the January 6, 2025 certification of President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 electoral win.
CHIPS and Science Act
In 2022, Biden enacted the CHIPS and Science Act, designed to enhance microchip production in the U.S. to compete effectively with China in the realm of semiconductor manufacturing.
A total of 24 Republicans endorsed this measure in the House, while 17 supported it in the Senate.
The White House emphasized that this law would “bolster American manufacturing, strengthen supply chains, enhance national security, and invest in research and technology, ensuring the U.S. remains a frontrunner in emerging fields such as nanotechnology, clean energy, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.”
Before the upcoming election, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) indicated that some aspects of this law could be repealed if Republicans regained control of Congress.
“There could be legislation aimed at further streamlining and improving the primary purposes of the bill—eliminating costly regulations and Green New Deal mandates,” Johnson stated.
