The president’s priorities embrace increasing clemency, offering scholar debt reduction, and allocating remaining funds from his signature regulation.
WASHINGTON—The White Home in a brand new memo on Dec. 15 has outlined President Joe Biden’s key priorities to perform his acknowledged targets earlier than leaving workplace subsequent month.
The president’s priorities embrace increasing clemency and pardons, advancing climate-related initiatives, offering scholar debt reduction, and addressing considerations about synthetic intelligence (AI), in line with a brand new memo by Ben LaBolt, senior advisor to the president and communications director. Biden can even prioritize allocating extra funds from his signature legal guidelines together with the Inflation Discount Act (IRA) and the CHIPS Act.
“The President has been clear to his workforce that we have to make day by day rely, and construct on the historic progress we have now made,” LaBolt mentioned within the memo. “Within the coming weeks, you will note him just do that.”
On Dec. 12, Biden issued pardons for 39 folks convicted of non-violent crimes and commuted the sentences of almost 1,500 others, within the largest single-day act of clemency in historical past.
Biden has commuted extra sentences at this level in his presidency than his current predecessors. He’s additionally the primary to difficulty categorical pardons to folks convicted of utilizing or possessing marijuana and former army members convicted of personal conduct associated to their sexual orientation.
Within the coming weeks, the president will “take extra motion within the clemency and pardons house,” LaBolt mentioned.
Biden has made local weather motion a central focus of his presidency via each govt measures and laws, such because the IRA.
In his closing weeks, the president will keep this focus by “taking motion to guard our lands and waters and proceed our local weather ambition alongside state, native, and tribal and enterprise leaders,” in line with the White Home.
As well as, Biden will take motion on AI, although the specifics stay unclear.
On Oct. 24, Biden issued a nationwide safety memorandum on the usage of AI.
“The USA should lead the world within the accountable software of AI to acceptable nationwide safety capabilities,” the memorandum learn.
Biden has repeatedly warned of threats stemming from the event of AI.
“Nothing is for certain about how AI will evolve or how will probably be deployed. Nobody is aware of all of the solutions,” Biden mentioned, urging international locations to work collectively to handle points surrounding the usage of this new know-how.
Within the closing stretch, the White Home can even give attention to distributing all unspent cash earlier than the brand new administration takes the reins.
The president will proceed “investing in all of America, asserting high-speed web funds to states, CHIPS funding awards, IRA funding, and extra,” LaBolt mentioned.
The president has directed his workers to disburse as a lot funding as potential earlier than the tip of his time period.
On Dec. 11, the Biden administration awarded $735 million in grants to 70 recipients to assist buy 2,400 zero-emission heavy-duty autos.
The day earlier than, on Dec. 10, the administration introduced the allocation of $6.2 billion in direct funding to Micron Expertise as a part of the CHIPS Act to assist fund the development of a number of reminiscence chip amenities in the US.
Micron plans to speculate $100 billion in New York and $25 billion in Idaho over the subsequent 20 years, in line with an announcement by the Division of Commerce.
“A Presidency shouldn’t be measured simply in weeks, months, or four-year phrases alone—slightly its impression is evaluated for years and a long time to return,” LaBolt mentioned. “The dividends of the Biden-Harris Administration will proceed to remodel the nation lengthy after January 20, 2025.”