Biden’s First 100 Day’s; Wednesday’s Open Thread

Pardon Our Mess. Photo by Marty Mankins.

It’s Wednesday.

Wednesday April 28th, 2021, marks President Joe Biden’s 98th day in office.

For day 98–President Biden will have received his daily brief. At 9:00 p.m. D.C., time President Biden will address a Joint Sessions of Congress.

When last we met on Tuesday President Biden had not tweeted. He finished Tuesday with 5 tweets and no retweets.

His first three tweets sent at 1:54 p.m., 2:02 p.m., 2:08 p.m., and his last tweet for Tuesday sent at 5:30 p.m. D.C., time were all regarding the new CDC guidelines that say a fully vaccinated person can go maskless outside if not in a large crowd.

The first tweet was a live stream to his remarks regarding the Biden Administrations response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The stream is 15 minutes and 6 seconds long, President Biden starts to speak at the 4 minute and 12 second mark. His full remarks can be found here. The White House timestamp say’s the speech started at 1:55 p.m. and concluded at 2:04 p.m. D.C., time.

In his second tweet he tells us that “if you are fully vaccinated,” and outdoors not in a large crowd you can take off your mask.

President Biden (7:36): And because of the extraordinary progress we’ve made in fighting this virus and the progress our scientists have made in learning about how it gets transmitted, earlier today, the CDC made an important announcement: Starting today, if you’re fully vaccinated, and you’re outdoors, you need — and not in a big crowd — you no longer need to wear a mask.

For his third tweet he says to “go get the shot–it’s never been easier.”

President Biden (9:23): Yes, the vaccines are about saving your life, but also the lives of the people around you.  But they’re also about helping to get us get back to closer to normal in our living — more normal living — getting together with friends, going to the park for a picnic without needing to mask up.  We’re back to that place now as long as you get vaccinated. So, go get this shotIt’s never been easier.  And once you’re fully vaccinated, you can go without a mask when you’re outside and away from big crowds.

In the fifth and final tweet from Tuesday he adds a bit of humor…almost at any rate.

At 3:15 p.m. D.C., time he says he raised the federal minimum wage on federal contracts to $15 an hour.

The fact-sheet for the raise in minimum wage for federal contractors can be found here.

Bullet points:

  • Increase the hourly minimum wage for federal contractors to $15. Starting January 30, 2022 all agencies will need to incorporate a $15 minimum wage in new contract solicitations, and by March 30, 2022, all agencies will need to implement the minimum wage into new contracts.  Agencies must also implement the higher wage into existing contracts when the parties exercise their option to extend such contracts, which often occurs annually.
  • Continue to index the minimum wage to an inflation measure so that every year after 2022 it will be automatically adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of living.
  • Eliminate the tipped minimum wage for federal contractors by 2024. Federal statute allows employers of tipped workers to pay a sub-minimum wage as long as their tips bring their wage up to the level of the minimum wage. The Obama-Biden executive order raised the wages for tipped workers, but didn’t completely phaseout the subminimum wage for these workers. This executive order finishes that work and ensures tipped employees working on federal contracts will earn the same minimum wage as other employees on federal contracts.
  • Ensure a $15 minimum wage for federal contract workers with disabilities. To ensure equity, similar to the Obama-Biden minimum wage executive order for federal contractors, this executive order extends the required $15 minimum wage to federal contract workers with disabilities.
  • Restore minimum wage protections to outfitters and guides operating on federal lands by revoking President Trump’s executive order 13838 “Exemption From Executive Order 13658 for Recreational Services on Federal Lands.”

The Executive Order can be found here.

Snips:

Section 1.  Policy.  This order promotes economy and efficiency in Federal procurement by increasing the hourly minimum wage paid by the parties that contract with the Federal Government to $15.00 for those workers working on or in connection with a Federal Government contract as described in section 8 of this order. 

White House.gov. 04/27/2021.

Section 2 has a lot of subsections and legal wordage.

White House.gov. 04/27/2021.
White House.gov. 04/27/2021.

 (A)  not less than the amount in effect on the date of such determination;
 (B)  increased from such amount by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (United States city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted), or its successor publication, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; and (C)  rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05.
(b)  In calculating the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for purposes of subsection (a)(ii)(B) of this section, the Secretary shall compare such Consumer Price Index for the most recent month, quarter, or year available (as selected by the Secretary prior to the first year for which a minimum wage is in effect pursuant to subsection (a)(ii)(B) of this section) with the Consumer Price Index for the same month in the preceding year, the same quarter in the preceding year, or the preceding year, respectively.
(c)  Nothing in this order shall excuse noncompliance with any applicable Federal or State prevailing wage law, or any applicable law or municipal ordinance establishing a minimum wage higher than the minimum wage established under this order.

White House.gov. 04/27/2021.

Section 3 focuses on tip earners, they will get $10.50  “beginning January 1, 2023, 85 percent of the wage in effect under section 2 of this order, rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05; and beginning January 1, 2024, and for each subsequent year, 100 percent of the wage in effect under section 2 of this order.”

There are more sections that focus more on the laws and who is in charge of enforcing the increase. But in the essence of your sanity and mine, we are going to skip to the endish…

Section 8 subsection (c): This order shall not apply to grants; contracts, contract-like instruments, or agreements with Indian Tribes under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (Public Law 93-638), as amended; or any contracts or contract-like instruments expressly excluded by the regulations issued pursuant to section 4(a) of this order.

For Wednesday President Biden has tweeted 2 times and retweeted 0 times so far. Both tweets focus on his first Presidential Address to a Joint-Session of Congress.

8:49 a.m. D.C., time he shares a link to “how to watch” the Joint Address.

11:03 a.m. D.C., time he shares the same link as shown in his first tweet.

From the link:

Where can I watch President Joe Biden’s speech to Congress?

To watch the joint address live, visit WH.gov/live or any of these video streams:

YouTube: President Biden’s Joint Address to Congress

Facebook: President Biden’s Joint Address to Congress or The White House

Twitter: Visit @WhiteHouse or @POTUS

The White House livestream will feature supplemental information from senior Administration officials as part of our enhanced viewing experience.

The White House feed will include ASL interpretation for accessibility.

When does the Joint Address to Congress start?

The President will address a Joint Session of Congress at the United States Capitol on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 9pm EDT.

Is this joint address the State of the Union for 2021?

President Joe Biden’s Speech to Congress on April 28 will be his first speech to Congress as President. As is tradition, the first address to Congress for any new President is called a Joint Address, rather than the State of the Union address.

White House.gov. 04/28/2021.

It appears there will not be a daily press briefing. It’s not listed on the schedule and I can’t find a link via YouTube.

There will a thread for the Joint-Address to Congress tonight.

This is an Open Thread.

About the opinions in this article…

Any opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website or of the other authors/contributors who write for it.

About Tiff 2521 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.