President Joe Biden signed four executive orders Tuesday ranging from ending federal private prison contracts to ending xenophobia against Asian Americans, while congressional Democrats introduced legislation calling for a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
Another executive order calls for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to promote equitable housing.
The moves come as Biden continues to fulfill a campaign promise to make combating racial injustice a focus of his presidency.
On Capitol Hill, House and Senate Democrats introduced a long-promised effort to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2025.
Beyond calling on the Justice Department to curb the use of private prisons, the new orders and memorandum signed by Biden will recommit the federal government to respect tribal sovereignty and disavow discrimination against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community that has ramped up from the coronavirus pandemic.
The order to end the reliance on privately run prisons directs the attorney general not to renew Justice Department contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities.
The order highlighting xenophobia against Asian Americans is in large part a reaction to what a senior administration official called “offensive and dangerous” rhetoric from the Trump administration that Biden believes needed to be addressed. Trump, throughout the pandemic, repeatedly reminded the nation the coronavirus originated in China.
Biden’s memorandum directs Health and Human Services officials to consider issuing guidance describing best practices to advance cultural competency and sensitivity toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the federal government’s COVID-19 response. It also directs the Department of Justice to partner with those communities to prevent hate crimes and harassment.
The latest executive actions come after Biden signed an order Monday reversing a Trump-era Pentagon policy that largely barred transgender people from serving in the military. Last week, he signed an order reversing Trump’s ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim and African countries.
Biden’s victory over Trump in several battleground states, including Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, was fueled by strong Black voter turnout.
Throughout his campaign and transition, Biden promised his administration would keep issues of equity — as well as climate change, another issue he views as an existential crisis — in the shaping of all policy considerations.
Biden, who followed through on an early promise to pick a woman to serve as vice president, has also sought to spotlight the diversity of his Cabinet selections.
On Monday, the Senate confirmed Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, who will be the first woman to lead the department.
Last week, the Senate confirmed Lloyd Austin as the nation’s first Black defense secretary.
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