In 2021, President Biden and Congressional Democrats delivered crucial legislation and policies that assisted our economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.  These policies resulted in historic economic growth and a faster recovery from the financial impacts of the pandemic than economists had forecast.  Take a look at some of the economic and other wins for working families across America secured by President Biden and Congressional Democrats in 2021:

Jobs: 2021 was the greatest year of job creation in American history, with 6.4 million jobs added—more than were created in the 12 years of the Trump and GW Bush administrations combined. Unemployment dropped from 6.4% in early 2021 to 3.9%, the fastest decline in American history and the lowest level since 1969. Under Trump, over 18 million were receiving unemployment benefits, today only 2 million are—also the biggest single year drop in history.

Economy: Democrats passed legislation in 2021 that saved our economy during a pandemic.

• Democrats — with no Republican votes — passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to speed up recovery from the pandemic caused recession. This emergency relief delivered $100B in funding to NY including $286M to Suffolk County. These funds protected essential workers, kept critical services and mass transportation running and averted planned cuts to Suffolk County’s 2021 budget.

• President Biden’s $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework is delivering billions to NY for transportation, broadband, climate and clean energy infrastructure projects that will have a huge positive impact, including:

  • Rail: $12B for intercity rail service, including $2.6B for the LIRR and commuter rail; $24B for Northeast Corridor modernization; $22B for Amtrak improvements

  • Highways: $11.6B for roads, highways; $1.9B for bridges; $142M for electric vehicle charging infrastructure

  • Airports: $685M for airports, including $294.6M for JFK, $150M for LGA, $21.6M for LI MacArthur, and $1.4M each for Francis Gabreski and Easthampton

  • Water: $2.6B+ for water infrastructure projects including lead pipe removal and emerging contaminant cleanup

  • Mass Transit: $9.8B for mass transit, clean buses

  • Broadband: $100M+ for broadband infrastructure

• U.S. economic output jumped 6.9% on an annual basis in the last three months of 2021. GDP for 2021 was up 5.7%, and economists predict growth of about 3.9% in 2022—the highest numbers the U.S. has seen in decades, and higher than any other country in the world. Despite increased spending, the federal budget deficit in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 dropped 33% from that of 2021.

Reduced Child Poverty & Hunger; Expanded Healthcare Access: Experts estimate the lowest child poverty rate ever in 2021. Households that sometimes or often did not have enough food dropped by 32%. Nearly 5 million Americans gained health insurance coverage.

Diversity in Appointments:  More Black women appointed as U.S. Court of Appeal Judges than any other president; first majority non-white Cabinet with most women in the Cabinet, including first woman Treasury Secretary, first LGBTQ+ and Native American officials; most diverse Administration in history – most women, people of color, LGBTQ+, disabled, first-generation American, and first-generation college graduates.

Climate: Largest investments ever in the power grid, electric vehicle chargers, climate resilience; largest investment and national plan for clean drinking water; strongest vehicle emissions standards for cleaner cars; first-ever approvals of large offshore wind projects.

 

 NY state Democrats also are leading to help NY make a swift recovery from the pandemic and put NY back on a path toward growth.  Gov. Kathy Hochul’s ambitious 2022 agenda includes a proposed series of $2.3B in tax cuts and rebates for working New Yorkers and small businesses:

• a $1B tax rebate program for property owners, with more than 2M New Yorkers being eligible for rebates with middle- and low-income households receiving higher benefits

• accelerating middle-class tax cuts that were due to be phased in through 2025 so as to cut 2 years from the schedule, providing $1.2B of tax cuts to 6.1M New Yorkers in 2023

• $100M in tax relief to 195,000 small businesses which would be able to claim a higher tax return adjustment, lowering gross taxable incomes for business with incomes below $1.5M (increased from the existing $250,000 annual cap)

 Among the Governor’s other proposals:

• to fight rising gun violence, tripling resources for NY State Police to boost and expedite efforts to trace guns used in crimes, and forming a new gun-tracing consortium of state police, local law enforcement agencies and neighboring states

• $4B to support higher wages and bonuses for health care workers, and free tuition to cover educational costs for people entering high-demand health occupations and stipends to offset lost income while attending school

• expanding tuition assistance for college students, making part-time students eligible for aid and helping an estimated 75,000 parents and dislocated workers attend school

• addressing the statewide teacher shortage, including an incentive for retired teachers, counselors and school bus drivers to return to work, and waiving the annual $35,000 income limit that prevents the state’s 169,000 retired teachers from returning to schools

• investing $500M investment in offshore wind manufacturing and its related supply chain

The Work Ahead.  Democrats fully recognize that we face major challenges and understand that Americans are frustrated.  There is still much more to be done and Democrats – despite unmitigated Republican obstructionism – are working hard to expand healthcare access, restore the child tax credit, improve schools, help small businesses, lower drug prices, address climate change and find solutions to improve the lives of middle- and lower-class Americans.  On the other hand, Republicans are standing in the way of progress for working Americans and instead cater to billionaires, multimillionaires and big business.