Biden Administration Outlook
On Wednesday, January 6th, Congress certified Joe Biden’s election to the US Presidency. Naturally, this raises the question: What will the Biden administration look like?
To be sure, the next four years promise to be much like the Obama years. However, the national mood is much different. And, because the House will be controlled by Democrats and the Senate is split 50-50, Congressional leadership (such as Nancy Pelosi) will be likely to push for very left-leaning proposals.
What’s on the agenda of Biden and the Left? Here’s our best analysis.
(Don’t have time to read the full list now? Click here to find out more about our new prayer initiative – we hope you’ll take part!)
The Hyde Amendment
Since 1976, the federal Hyde amendment has prevented taxpayer dollars from funding most abortions in government programs like Medicaid. It is responsible for many lives saved and taxpayer dollars prevented from funding abortion.
Since 2016, the Democrat Party has included the repeal of the Hyde Amendment in its national platform. Their goal is to implement taxpayer funding of abortion nationwide. While Joe Biden had historically been a longtime supporter of the Hyde Amendment, he flip-flopped in a 2020 election year appeal to his liberal base and he now supports its repeal – essentially advocating for publicly funded abortion.
Other Pro-Abortion Initiatives
Kamala Harris is no stranger to advocating for abortion. Part of her pitch to a Planned Parenthood political rally was that she wanted the United States Department of Justice to have the final say on whether any state pro-life laws could go into effect.
While it’s unlikely her vision will come to pass, it does provide a very clear idea of the general attitude of the Biden-Harris administration’s view on states’ rights as far as they relate to abortion.
Equality Act
The Equality Act was originally introduced in 2019 by Nancy Pelosi. This dangerous bill would alter the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the already existing protected classes like race, age, veteran status, religion, and ethnic background.
The Equality Act is a far-reaching measure that would drastically alter nearly every area of law and life, with particularly harmful effects on women and children. For example, it would open the door to radical ideology about sex and sexuality into the locker room, classroom, and even children's healthcare—with limited opportunities for parents to intervene on behalf of their children. And much more.
It would also trample religious liberty by labeling biblical views of human sexuality and gender roles as discriminatory. This harmful measure could impact churches, nonprofits, adoption providers and religious schools. It would also impact parents by making it hard for them to object to school curriculums teaching a radical sexual ideology to their young children. If signed into law, the Equality Act could negatively affect court cases, legal arguments, and legal decisions for decades to come.
Joe Biden has indicated he would sign the Equality Act if Congress passes it.
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Save Girls’ Sports/Title IX
Girls’ athletic opportunities hang in the balance. Increasingly, males who identify as female have begun competing in female sports categories. This creates a fundamentally unfair playing field for women who do not have the same physiological advantages as men in sports. As a result, males have taken championship titles and other elite opportunities meant for girls.
While Family Policy Alliance and other conservatives (and even some in the Democrat party!) have taken great strides to protect girls’ sports, both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have indicated their intent is to “restore transgender students’ access to sports... in accordance with their gender identity.” If they succeed, our girls could again face inferior athletic opportunities to men.
Gender Transition
We are seeing a movement to push children in particular toward gender “transition,” while at the same time outlawing basic talk therapy for children who want to align their feelings with their biological sex. In a number of states, we have seen parents targeted for resisting their children’s efforts to “change” gender. This kind of pressure could increase through the Equality Act and through targeted policies from the US Department of Education.
And, Joe Biden has indicated that all Trump-Era rules and executive orders affirming biological gender norms will be eliminated as well as bans on transgender-identifying soldiers in the military.
Filibuster in the US Senate
When the Senate is split 50-50, the Vice President is tiebreaker – meaning that Kamala Harris could decide the fate of much key legislation.
Thankfully, Republicans have a tool to help prevent harmful bills in this unusual scenario: the filibuster. When invoked, this requires 60 Senators – not 51 – to agree to end debate and vote on a bill.
The filibuster is an obstacle to the Democrats as we head into 2021. With a 50-50 split in the US Senate, getting to 60 votes on much of any legislation will be a stretch.
It’s no wonder, then, that some on the Left want to eliminate the filibuster: it would make the work of passing the radical policies discussed above that much easier for the Biden administration.
It’s questionable whether the Left has the votes to get rid of the filibuster itself. For now, the filibuster is an important, though complicated, mechanism that could very well serve to stop a lot of bad things from happening in Congress over the next few years.
(At Family Policy Alliance, we’re not only working for the good of our country: we’re praying for it, too. If you want to join us, you can click here to sign up for a prayer time!)
Court Packing
With the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court, it’s the first time in many years that the High Court has been filled with a majority of originalist, conservative-minded Justices.
In response, many on the Left have called for “packing” the court with more liberal justices. That means Congress could pass a law allowing for more seats on the Supreme Court – giving Joe Biden opportunity to nominate more left-leaning Justices. If that happened, it would have generational ramifications on issues like abortion and religious freedom.
However, it remains to be seen whether this will be possible. It may not be politically feasible – and even if it were, it could cost the Left seats in the 2022 election.
What exactly will Joe Biden’s first day look like?
When Joe Biden takes office, it’s possible that many of the religious freedom, conscience rights, and pro-life gains we have seen through the Trump administration could be on the chopping block – some potentially on the first day. The list of Trump’s positive actions that would be on the table is extensive. It includes pro-life protections like keeping some federal funds away from abortion providers, ensuring all infants receive medical care, and protecting religious freedom for pro-life doctors. And, it includes religious freedom protections for students, teachers, health care workers, religious institutions, federal contractors, and others.
Thankfully, at least some of these protections will not be easy to undo. Others, such as Executive Orders, would be easy targets for Biden on his first day in office.
Under God, One Nation
At Family Policy Alliance, our mission is “A nation where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive and life is cherished.” That all starts with prayer. Seeking the Lord’s intervention and favor for our nation is something that we should always do and this time in our nation’s history is no different. Whether it is crying out for repentance, revival, renewal or even deliverance from dangerous public policy, all things should start with prayer as we seek His will in all that lies ahead for our nation.
We have set up our Under God, One Nation prayer chain and we hope you will take a moment and join us in prayer for our nation. If you click HERE, you can sign up for a daily or weekly prayer time. Please help us to fill many prayer spots as we boldly ask for the Lord to protect the United States, and for his help as we advance the cause for life, strengthen families, and pursue policy that honors Him.
Please join us today.
Prayerfully,
Meridian Baldacci
Policy and Communications Strategist
Robert Noland
Communications Manager
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