On certain issues will Biden’s administration residency feel like Obama’s ninth year presidency?
By Yvonne Sam
As Joe Biden took the oath of office as the 46th President of the United States, the ongoing debate over the validity of the election itself obscured any discussion of what is to be expected during his administration. Former president Donald J. Trump spent significant time subverting executive actions by President Barack Obama, and as such we should expect from Joe Biden a return to the Obama administration policies. Based on statements made during the Biden campaign, here are some of what the new administration should be expected to do.
Following the passage of Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act, there has been a displayed reluctance by Congress to make significant reforms in health policy. Major changes have come about as a result of court decisions, and smaller changes largely have been the work of executive action by presidents.
It is predicted by policy experts that President Biden will restore federal funding to abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood, a non-profit health care provider, and a global partner helping similar organizations around the world. A Trump administration rule preventing abortion centers from obtaining Federal Title X funding, which helps ensure that every person — regardless of where they live,their background, the amount of money they make, or whether or not they have health insurance — has access to basic, preventive reproductive health care is also expected to be reversed.
The Biden administration is expected to return to the policies of the Obama administration and push local schools to permit access to restrooms and locker rooms depending on a student’s gender identity rather than sex. former administration allowed schools to make their own rules regarding use of school facilities, permitting policies that limit private areas to biological boys or biological girls.
President Barack Obama quashed the Mexico City Policy originally created by President Ronald Reagan and reinstated by President Trump. This policy disallows U.S tax dollars from being used to pay for abortions overseas. According to Biden’s “agenda for women,” the new president will rescind the policy so that U.S. taxpayers once again fund abortion groups that promote abortion overseas.
During the Trump administration individuals and employers were provided with relief from the Obamacare mandate requiring health plans to pay for contraceptives and abortion-causing drugs. Biden is expected to eliminate the moral and religious exemptions that made that relief possible. This would result in tens of millions of dollars in fines on charities such as the world’s most tenacious nuns – Little Sisters of the Poor, who took the government all the way to the Supreme Court and won in their fight for religious liberty. https://www.heritage.org/religious-liberty/commentary/little-sisters-poor-win-big-supreme-court-fight-isnt-over
Banned from military service were those who identify as transgender, on the grounds that their unique challenges interfered with the goals of military readiness. Biden likely will overturn this policy so that the military will pay for gender reassignments for service members and keep those going through a sex change on active duty.
The Trump administration prohibited the U.S. government from discriminating against grant applicants because of their religious beliefs. As a result, religious foster care agencies, adoption agencies, and homeless shelters could compete for federal grants on equal footing with others. However, this current administration, is expected to create rules that will disqualify any entity that believes marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman, that sex cannot change, or that children do best with both a mother and father in their lives.
Previous administration policies enforced federal law to protect health care providers from being required to perform abortions or gender reassignment surgeries, or to dispense drugs in violation of their conscience or best medical judgment. The Biden administration likely will revoke these protections that help medical providers to offer services according to their conscience.
As the Biden presidency continues, the first year may feel like the ninth year of the Obama administration, with some apparent key differences. Another significant change in the past four years has been Trump’s appointment of three new justices Neil Gorsuch Bret Kavanagh, and Amy Comey- Barrett to the Supreme Court.
For those who are concerned about the implications of Biden’s executive orders and narrow Democrat majorities in Congress, the Supreme Court may represent the best defense against two years of one-party control. The first few months of the Biden administration will be focused on COVID-19 and the economy. But Harris is certain to face scrutiny — and pressure — from advocates to ensure the perspectives of Black and brown Americans are reflected in those policies and the Biden White House’s priorities. The current administration must chart its own course, proceeding with care to avert any similarity to Obama’s ninth year.
Yvonne Sam, a retired Head Nurse and Secondary School Teacher. A regular columnist for over two decades with the Montreal Community Contact, her insightful and incursive articles on topics ranging from politics, human rights and immigration, to education and parenting have also appeared in the Huffington Post, Montreal Gazette, Pride Magazine, XPressbogg and Guyanese OnLine. She is also the recipient of the Governor General of Canada Caring Canadian Citizen Award.
Comments
Pl remember that as V.P. for eight years the President was a functional and integral part of the Obama administration’s policy It seems to me not much credit is being given to the President for the choice of personnel selected for administrative positions.
he would have worked with most of these appointees over that period .–would have come to know them and their abilities.
All things considered the President with his knowledge,experience and being part of the inside workings of WASHINGTON is the most ‘qualified’ person to ‘captain’ the ‘ship’ at this time.
Let us consider this administration as BIDEN’s please.
What is Yvonne Sam trying to tell us with this “insightful” article about the policies to be expected from the new Biden administration? Restoration of funding for Planned Parenthood? What is wrong, if women (frequently teenager who had not received sex education or access to contraception) seeking in getting a legal and save abortion? Anybody is entitled to his or her own options on abortion but do not try to impose your views on others! That’s the basis of pro-choice. The hypocrisy of the pro-life movement is revealed by the fact that most are in favour of the death penalty. You cannot have it both ways, the unborn life is protected and sacred, while the state should be allow to exercise the death penalty to take life. On the issue of transgender, why do you want to discriminate against these people. First, the make up an infinite small proportion of the population. Why should they not be allow to choose which restroom they want to use? Do I check in the male restroom whether some one is straight or gay? It just does not matter. It also good that the Biden administration has lifted the discriminatory ban of transgender people serving in the army. What’s the problem for Ms. Sam here? Until 70 years ago, black service men were subject to discrimination in the US army, which was appalling. Why does a black women think it’s questionable to allow transgender people to serve? Jesus would not have had a problem. He embraced every person, whether he was a tax collector, a prostitute, a peasant or a unfaithful son, as a human being who has dignity and can redeem his or her sins by trying to be a better person. Who says the same-sex parents are bad parents? Where is the evidence? She does not present it, because there is not evidence that “children do best with both a mother and father in their lives”. Fact is that children do best if the have parents that care, irrespective of their sexual orientation or whether the are single parents. Finally, on Obama care. Why is Ms. Sam so cynical the Biden administration removing all the regulation introduced by the Trump administration in an effort to kill Obama care? Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and their health care insurance due to the pandemic. They cannot afford to get ill, because they do no longer have health insurance. This would not happened in any other developed economy as they all provide universal health care, including Canada where Ms. Sam resides. Why does she want to deny health care benefits that she takes from grant to the American people?
biden is a farce…above mentioned…hot button items, fleas wagging the dog.What about first day thousands losing their jobs,no one mentioned, a bunch of criminals in social media with enough power to block the PRESIDENT of the United States of America and sway the narrative to suit one side over the other, foreign governments now paying attention.
biden’s “America”will go off rail in a hurry. Buckle up.
Wally, I sure hope your prediction will not materialize. Guyana needs to US to fend off the Venezuelans. Or are you planning to drive them out of Essequibo and off its shores?
To be honest… I can remember when Guyanese were thrown out on their asses, by Venezuela for trying to sneak into their country. Guyana and all other countries should control entry from outsiders, check em before you let em. You know that this mass migration is controlled by a few mostly white RICH people, multi billion industry, encouraged by greedy politicians. There are a few countries waiting to take the potential wealth, of Venezuela, they should do the helping, before Guyana goes bankrupt, biting off more than it can chew. The Essequibo problem is a lot deeper (sorry) than people can imagine, much international backrooming.
Unlike most of the people on this site, I do read all the stuff social media and MSM is trying to suppress, it is going to explode, sometime, hopefully soon.