President-Elect Joe Biden's Plans on Economy, Stimulus Check After Inauguration

By Neil P. Nov 27 2020, 06:34 AM EST

Joe Biden has many top priorities as he enters the White House in January. Part of his plans is to address the stimulus package and to lay down his economic plan in the first few months of his administration.

Joe Biden needs to plan how to strike the deal for another stimulus package that millions of Americans are anticipating.

Biden has already appointed some essential persons like members of his COVID-19 task force and his Chief of Staff. However, it is still not clear as to how he will address some economic issues in the country amid the pandemic.

There have been many calls from the economists and the Federal Reserve Officials to pass another stimulus, but the negotiators could not come up with a deal with strong bipartisan support. If Biden enters the White House, the stimulus package and economic platforms must be his top priority.

Joe Biden's initial plan

After Joe Biden projected his victory in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, he immediately appointed his COVID-19 Task Force who will help him address the pandemic that is currently plaguing the country. But these plans will only happen once he takes his oath on January 20, according to CNet.

Joe Biden is more likely to ask the Democratic-dominated Congress to pass laws ranging from clean energy to immigration reform. However, if another round of stimulus package will not be passed, there some things he could do just like what Pres. Trump did in the past.

The incoming administration has already identified a range of issues that it could address through the use of executive orders. These include rejoining the Paris climate agreement and instituting new ethics guidelines for the White House.

In addition to that, Biden could also sign and release a memo or an executive order as a stop-gap before another bill came to a vote.

Joe Biden's Three Economic Areas

Unemployment Benefits

Biden and his administration have already outlined his stimulus plan. He touted this also during the campaign period. The unemployment benefit is based on the CARES Act which was passed into law in March but it is still not clear if it will be larger or if there will be changes in the qualifications.

However, Joe Biden can also come up with an executive order if a stimulus package that includes unemployment benefits will not be passed into law.

He can do what Pres. Trump did, by issuing an executive order that will divert some unspent budget to and use it as unemployment aid.

Set a Minimum Wage

This one will definitely be a long battle that will hopefully be approved. Joe Biden discussed during the campaign period his plans to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. This is higher than the current $7.25 per hour. But Biden needs the support of Congress to raise the federal minimum wage.

However, senior economist and the director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute Heidi Shierholz said that Biden can make this possible if he will release an executive order.

Defer Student Loan Payments

Deferment of student-loan repayments is set to expire this Dec. 31 together with the COVID-19 protections. Once Biden enters the White House, he can execute an order that mandates the extension of the deferral of loans until 2021.