Biden tackles food crisis affecting millions of Americans

(illustration) Homeless in Bloomington, Indiana.

President Biden has just launched an emergency plan against poverty.

SOPA Images / LightRocket via Gett - SOPA Images

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

For this second day of work, the new US administration this Friday focused on emergency economic aid.

Joe Biden signed two presidential decrees aimed at increasing food aid in the country and strengthening social rights.

Publicity

Read more

With our correspondent in New York,

Carrie Nooten

Emergency initiatives taken by presidential decree to go faster.

To justify himself, the American president painted a crude reality of the United States in times of 

pandemic

: one does not have enough food in one in seven households;

16 million Americans live on unemployment benefits alone;

and local public services are starting to lay off people - 600,000 people have lost their jobs in education, for example.

Much of America is suffering,

" insisted the new president.

Families are hungry.

People are being kicked out.

Job losses are climbing again.

We must act now.

If we act now, our economy will be stronger, both short and long term.

This is what economists from all sides tell us!

 " 

$ 1.9 trillion plan

Joe Biden has thus released more food aid.

It maintains unemployment rights for people with pre-existing conditions who would refuse frontline jobs.

A moratorium on housing evictions for unpaid rents has already been extended.

After these emergency measures, the president will then present his “bailout” of 1.9 trillion dollars.

He called on Congress to quickly validate it in order to curb the looming crisis. 

► 

To listen: United States: Joe Biden, or the era of the post-lie

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • United States

  • Coronavirus

On the same subject

Media column

United States: Joe Biden, or the era of the post-lie

Trump's impeachment trial to begin around February 8 in Senate

Washington from here

[Original podcast] Trump, Biden, White House crossover