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Biden signs orders to get checks and food aid to low-income Americans -- plus a federal pay raise
Jan 22, 2021 2 mins, 5 secs

That more ambitious proposal would have to go through Congress, while the steps outlined in Friday's orders don't require legislation and can be put in place faster.

In remarks before he signed, the President listed many of the financial troubles facing Americans, including that 1 in 7 households -- more than 1 in 5 Black and Latino families -- say they don't have enough food to eat, 14 million Americans have fallen behind on their rent and 900,000 people filed for unemployment for the first time last week.

"This cannot be who we are as a country," he said.

Biden's latest executive order aims to boost food aid to low-income families and children and get the already-approved stimulus checks to Americans who don't routinely file taxes and aren't easily reached by the Treasury.

Still, while Biden's efforts will provide "a critical lifeline" to millions of Americans, Congress still needs to act on comprehensive relief, Deese said.

Biden has signed a raft of executive orders, actions and memorandums since being sworn in Wednesday, including immediate moves to help student loan borrowers and people facing eviction.

The program, part of the relief packages Congress passed last March, provides funds to low-income families whose children's schools have closed to replace the free or reduced-price meals they would have received.

Also, the order directs the department to consider allowing states to boost food stamp benefits for about 12 million Americans who did not benefit from an earlier increase in emergency allotments included in the congressional relief packages.

The calculation was established in the 1970s, and advocates say it makes unrealistic assumptions about food affordability and availability, as well as about the time families have to shop and prepare meals.

In addition, Biden is directing the Treasury Department to consider taking a series of actions to reach the estimated 8 million people who may miss out on their stimulus payments because they don't normally file taxes.

Most eligible adults received the money automatically.

Still, experts have said the government could be more aggressive in these efforts.

And the executive order directs the Department of Labor to consider clarifying that unemployed Americans can refuse to take jobs they fear will jeopardize their health and still qualify for unemployment benefits.

States have varied in how they have handled these situations, with Republican-led states voicing concerns that enhanced unemployment benefits are enticing people to avoid returning to work.

$15 wages as a federal baseline

Biden's second executive order is geared toward improving the jobs of federal workers and contractors, which was among the President's campaign commitments.

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