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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s first days in office featured the ushering in of dozens of executive actions focusing on this administration’s top priorities, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of his orders were aimed at undoing some of former President Donald Trump’s policies in areas such as health care, immigration, the environment and equity and diversity issues.
Here is a list of the orders, memorandum and proclamations Biden has made since the start of his presidency. This list, which was last updated Jan. 29, will be updated as additional actions are signed:
Jan. 28
- Executive order to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid by directing agencies to review any policies that may hinder access to the ACA and recommending the opening of a three-month enrollment period for uninsured Americans.
- Memorandum reversing the Trump administration’s “Mexico City Policy” that blocked funding to groups that include abortion services or information in their family-planning programs, and suggesting the reconsideration of policies that “impose undue restrictions on the use of Federal funds or women’s access to complete medical information.”
Jan. 27
- Executive order elevating climate change as a national security concern and committing to the goal of conservation goals.
- Executive order establishing the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Jan. 26
- Executive order directing the phase-out of private prisons by not renewing contracts from the Department of Justice. The order does not apply to other federal agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- Memorandum condemning racism and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and instructing the Department of Health and Human Services to consider best practices to mitigate language in guidance that could further racism.
- Memorandum directing agencies to mitigate racial bias in federal housing policies.
- Memorandum recommitting the government to respecting tribal sovereignty.
Jan. 25
- Executive order reversing the Trump administration policy to ban transgender people from serving in the military.
- Executive order committing to investing in American companies and closing loopholes “that allow companies to offshore production and jobs while still qualifying for domestic preferences.”
- Proclamation to suspend the entry of noncitizens to the U.S. who were present in certain regions in the 14 days prior to their attempted entry, including: the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of Europe), the Republic of Ireland, the Federative Republic of Brazil, and the Republic of South Africa.
Jan. 22
- Executive order restoring collective bargaining power for federal employees, and directing the Office of Personnel Management to provide recommendations for achieving a $15 minimum wage for federal workers.
- Executive order promoting assistance from federal agencies to individuals, families and small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jan. 21
- Executive order to identify supplies and accelerate the production of supplies needed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, including the vaccines and personal protective equipment.
- Executive order stating support for reopening schools, calling on the secretary of Education to work with elementary and secondary schools on how to reopen and stay open.
- Executive order calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue guidelines on COVID-19 for workplaces and establish an enforcement program for violations that put workers at risk.
- Executive order to require mask-wearing on certain modes of transportation and for international travelers to the U.S. to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test before traveling.
- Executive order encouraging acceleration of the production of treatments for the coronavirus and expansion of access to therapies.
- Executive order establishing a COVID-19 testing board to increase test supply and bring manufacturing of tests to the U.S.
- Executive order directing the government to examine and prevent inequities in health care and services for communities of color and other marginalized groups, establishing within Health and Human Services a COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.
- Executive order enhancing data collection and sharing among governmental agencies to strengthen public health infrastructure.
- Memorandum directing FEMA to cover states’ costs for the National Guard to assist in pandemic response.
Jan. 20
- Executive order rescinding Trump’s 1776 Commission, a panel Trump established as a response to the New York Times’ 1619 Project, a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection that focused on America’s history with slavery.
- Executive order revoking Trump’s plan to exclude noncitizens from the census.
- Executive order prohibiting workplace discrimination in the federal government based on sexual orientation and gender identity and directing federal agencies to ensure protections for LGBTQ people are included in anti-discrimination statutes.
- Executive order creating a COVID-19 response coordinator who will report directly to the president.
- Executive order revoking Trump’s 2017 Interior Enforcement Executive Order, which broadened the categories of undocumented immigrants subject for removal, restarted the Secure Communities program and supported the federal 287(g) deportation program.
- Executive order launching a government-wide initiative directing every federal agency to review its state of racial equity and deliver an action plan within 200 days to address any disparities in policies and programs.
- Executive order extending the pause on student loan payments and nationwide restrictions on evictions and foreclosures.
- Executive order creating an equitable data working group to make sure federal data reflects the country’s diverse makeup and direct the Office of Management and Budget to allocate more federal resources to underserved communities.
- Executive order canceling the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline to move oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, rescinding Trump’s approval of a project long criticized by environmentalists.
- Proclamation ending construction of Trump’s signature wall on the U.S.-Mexican border by proclaiming the “immediate termination” of the national emergency declaration Trump used to fund it.
- Proclamation reversing Trump’s ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries.
- Proclamation declaring a National Day of Unity on Jan. 20, 2021.
- Memorandum directing the Office of Management and Budget to make recommendations to modernize regulatory processes.
- Memorandum extending the deferred deportation of Liberians through the end of June 2022.
- Memorandum to strengthen Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals for certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
Source: USA TODAY
