Joe Biden will tackle one of the most visible effects of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic on Friday by promising immediate help to the millions of jobless Americans who are hungry and crowded into food banks.
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While awaiting the vote in Congress of the gigantic emergency aid plan for the economy of 1900 billion dollars unveiled last week, the Democrat will take two decrees: the first to increase food aid in the country for face the worst crisis of modern times, the second to strengthen the social rights of federal agents.
Two days after his inauguration, the new American president thus continues to list his priorities with presidential decisions.
In three days, he will have taken nearly thirty.
"
Nearly 30 million Americans suffer from not having enough to eat,
" said Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council of the White House at a conference with reporters.
“
This includes one in five black and Latino adults according to the most recent survey
,” he added, noting that a total of 1 in 7 households had difficulty eating properly.
In the United States, where schools provided daily meals to students from poor families, 12 million children do not have enough to eat either.
In cities, the queues for soup kitchens have grown and food banks are overwhelmed, including in affluent suburbs of the federal capital Washington.
Joe Biden will ask the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand and relax its Low and No Income Individuals and Families (SNAP) program, which has replaced the Food Stamps program, which enabled low-income families to obtain basic food products in approved stores.
"Concrete actions", but "not enough"
The electronic card EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer), which succeeded the tickets of 1, 5 and 10 dollars, should be increased by 15% "
to correctly reflect the cost of missed meals
" due to the closure of schools.
Currently, it offers up to $ 5.70 a day per child in school.
“
These are concrete actions and they will help families who need assistance now,
” said Brian Deese.
“
But they are not enough to solve the food crisis we are facing,
” he admitted.
"
Hence the need for a rescue plan for the economy
" which negotiations in Congress are due to start soon, added the senior official.
While many Americans have lost their jobs and are without savings, the Biden administration also wants to make sure that direct checks already voted by Congress reach the families who need them most.
According to the National Economic Council, "
many Americans faced difficulties in receiving the first round of direct payments and up to eight million eligible households did not receive the payments that were issued in March
."
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The second decree should improve the social rights of federal employees.
President Joe Biden wants to issue an executive order "
in the first 100 days
" of his tenure that will require private contractors to pay a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour and guarantee their workers "
paid emergency leave
".
"
These measures will help make the federal government a model employer and restore the social protections of career civil servants which are so essential in the country
", comments the National Economic Council in a note.