Republicans threaten Biden's agenda and want to impeach him 2:31

(CNN)

President Joe Biden was sworn into office a year ago as the country faces challenges not seen in generations.

In addition to the first pandemic in more than a century, the new president inherited an economy that had collapsed as Covid-19 cases rose.

Also, a nation so divided that supporters of his predecessor stormed the US Capitol two weeks earlier in an attempt to stop his rise to power.

Still, expectations for Biden were through the roof among Democrats.

Even more so after Jon Ossoff and the Reverend Raphael Warnock won the Georgia runoff election to become the state's senators and turned the tide in the chamber, giving the Democrats control of Congress, but by the narrowest of margins.

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Over the past year, Biden has gotten Congress to pass some of his top priorities, though others remain blocked.

That leaves him less than a year to work with Democrats to pass his legislative agenda before the next Congress is sworn in after the 2022 midterm elections. Biden also used the powers of his executive branch to sign 77 executive orders in his first year. in office, thus surpassing his predecessors: former President Donald Trump signed 58 executive orders in the same period, former President Barack Obama 41 and former President George W. Bush 56, according to data from the Federal Register.

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Here are the top 5 pieces of legislation Biden signed this year, his top 5 executive orders, and the top 5 priorities he has for 2022.

Five emblematic laws that Biden signed in his first year

1. The American Rescue Plan Act and the extension of existing covid-19 programs

United States President Joe Biden signs the American Rescue Plan on March 11, 2021, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

(Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden signed into law the American Bailout Plan –– a vast $1.9 trillion package–– in early March.

The series of measures, which constitutes one of the most important laws in decades aimed at boosting the US recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, included stimulus payments of up to $1,400 per person for about 90% of households. Americans.

Also a $300 federal enhancement to weekly unemployment benefits and an expansion of the child tax credit to up to $3,600 per child.

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The plan received no support from any Republicans in Congress.

Still, it also included $350 billion for state and local aid, as well as billions of dollars earmarked for K-12 schools to help students return to classrooms, to help small businesses affected by the pandemic and for research, development and distribution of vaccines.

• Biden signs $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package

That same month, Biden also signed two laws that extended economic relief during the pandemic.

He signed legislation expanding the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal government's key effort to provide relief to small businesses affected by the pandemic.

He also supported the Covid-19 Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act, which expanded the temporary bankruptcy provisions that the CARES Act had provided.

2. Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Law

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Biden signed this legislation into law in November.

It is a measure that injects $1.2 trillion into America's traditional "hard" infrastructure, such as roads and bridges.

The passage of the bill was celebrated at a White House event with lawmakers from both parties.

The legislation provided $550 billion in new federal investment for America's highways, bridges, mass transit, railroads, airports, ports, and waterways.

The package also included $65 billion to improve broadband infrastructure and billions to upgrade the power grid and water systems.

Another US$7.5 billion will go towards establishing a national network of electric vehicle chargers.

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The "hard" infrastructure package is the first part of a two-phase plan Biden has proposed.

The second part, a $1.75 trillion economic and climate package called "Build Back Better," has yet to pass the Senate.

3. Bills to prevent the shutdown of the federal government and keep it operating

Biden signed two stopgap measures -- one in late September and one in December -- to avert a government shutdown.

The December extension, which came just hours before the midnight deadline, marked the end of an impasse over objections by some Republican senators to Biden's Covid-19 vaccine requirements.

Funding in the December interim bill is extended through mid-February.

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In December, Biden also signed a bill that increases the national debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion and extends it through 2023.

In addition, the president signed two emergency provisions for funding in July and September: the Government Financing Expansion and Emergency Assistance Delivery Act, as well as the Emergency Security Supplemental Allocation Act.

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The former provided additional emergency funds to deal with the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection.

Also, the financial needs arising from the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the expenses incurred by the US Capitol as a result of the pandemic.

The second bill provided funding for disaster relief and evacuees from Afghanistan, among other appropriations.

4. Juneteenth National Independence Day Law

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Last summer, Biden signed legislation establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a US federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the country.

This date commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in Galveston, Texas, in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

Efforts to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday gained momentum in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests that erupted in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.

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Juneteenth is the first federal holiday established since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. And it becomes at least the eleventh federal holiday recognized by the United States government.

5. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Law

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Law, which banned imports from China's Xinjiang region, was enacted in December.

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The new legislation prohibits bringing goods from that region into the US unless an importer can prove that the products were not made with forced labor in the area of ​​China where human rights violations have been reported for the treatment of Uyghurs. Muslim majority.

Five Significant Executive Orders Biden Signed in His First Year

1. Reverse Trump-era policies

The early days of the Biden administration were largely marked by reversing actions taken by the Trump administration.

Biden campaigned on a commitment to dismantle his predecessor's legacy.

And, in that sense, he moved quickly to reverse some of the former president's policies from day one.

In his first 100 days in office, Biden signed more than 60 executive actions.

Of those, 24 of which were to directly reverse Trump's policies.

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Within hours of taking office, Biden halted funding for Trump's border wall construction, reversed his travel ban targeting majority-Muslim countries and adopted progressive policies on the environment and diversity that Trump spent four years blocking. .

Biden also reversed several of Trump's attempts to withdraw from international agreements, restarted the process of rejoining the Paris climate accord and stopped the United States from leaving the World Health Organization.

In addition, he imposed a mask mandate in federal buildings, a symbolic break with Trump's handling of the pandemic.

These are the first decrees of Joe Biden 2:19

Biden subsequently reversed Trump-era executive orders against TikTok and other Chinese apps.

Also one aimed at "Preventing Online Censorship" and an order to build the "Garden of American Heroes," which was announced by Trump during an Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore in 2020.

2. Vaccination requirements

Perhaps the most controversial decree taken by Biden in the last year was his effort to require vaccines or covid-19 tests for large companies.

An effort that ultimately frustrated the Supreme Court.

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In September, as part of a push to vaccinate more Americans, Biden directed the Labor Department to require all companies with 100 or more employees to make sure their workers are up to date on vaccinations or get them tested once a week. week.

He also signed a decree requiring all government employees to get vaccinated, with no option for regular testing for those who choose not to.

In addition, it required that the 17 million health workers in facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding be fully vaccinated, expanding the mandate to hospitals, home care facilities and dialysis facilities across the country.

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As companies scrambled to implement these policies, the vaccination requirement faced legal challenges almost immediately.

And last week, in a devastating blow to the government, the Supreme Court blocked the requirement for large companies.

Although, it did allow the mandate for certain healthcare workers to go into effect across the country.

However, the action may have led to a surge in vaccinations despite their failure.

Citigroup, for example, reported 99% compliance with its vaccination requirement.

3. Gun control

Although talks on Capitol Hill failed to advance gun reform legislation, Biden tried to take some action on gun control in his first year.

This comes amid a record rise in homicides and gun violence.

US President Joe Biden speaks on gun violence prevention in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on April 8, 2021. (Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Last year, Biden took a limited set of steps to direct his administration to tighten restrictions on so-called ghost guns and gun stabilizer mounts that allow them to be used with greater precision.

They also expanded background checks for certain types of weapons.

In addition to making new investments in intervention programs for violence-prone communities and creating model "alarm" legislation for states to pass.

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Biden campaigned on sweeping actions to curb gun violence, but those proposals lagged behind more significant reforms that require legislation.

Biden and top administration officials have repeatedly called on Congress to pass a bill on background checks, one aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of abusers, and the Build Back Better Act, which includes violence intervention programs. community.

However, those bills remain stalled.

4. Climate goals

Biden used his executive power in December to order the federal government to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, precisely a step toward meeting his stated climate goals.

Meanwhile, his broad Build Back Better agenda, which has important climate provisions, remains deadlocked in Congress.

Biden at COP26: Climate crisis threatens "human existence" 1:22

The executive order directed the US government to buy clean energy, acquire electric vehicles and make federal buildings more energy efficient.

The administration maintains 300,000 buildings, drives 600,000 cars and trucks in its vehicle fleet, and spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

That action came after Biden promised that the United States will cut its greenhouse gas emissions 50% to 52% below their 2005 levels by 2030.

5. Improve government processes

Biden also took steps last year to streamline government services.

This under the objective of improving the customer experience in a variety of services that are administered by the federal government and that can be frustrating and slow.

For example, waiting in line at the airport, renewing your passport, filing taxes, the retirement process, paying off student loans, applying for a small business loan, changing your name, and using telehealth services.

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That order, which he signed in December, directed 17 federal agencies to focus on more than 30 key areas where Americans can expect more efficient service and less hassle.

Reform efforts are organized around major life experiences, from having a child to surviving a natural disaster.

In particular, Americans will be able to renew their passports online.

And it will allow taxpayers to schedule a customer service callback when trying to contact the IRS for help.

Those actions, officials said, would be completed within a year.

Biden's top 5 priorities for 2022

1.Covid-19

How Biden handles the coronavirus pandemic is what will define his presidency.

Nearly two years into the pandemic, the US is still facing a spike in cases of the omicron variant, with infections and hospitalizations on the rise again in many states across the country.

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The administration will soon make 1 billion rapid home tests available to Americans for free.

This after receiving criticism for the lack of tests amid the increase in omicron.

The president also said his administration will distribute 400 million high-quality masks for free to help stop the spread of the virus.

The administration also continues to allocate $1.9 trillion in funds from the Democrats' Covid-19 emergency relief act that the president signed into law last year.

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The administration implemented a national vaccination program last year.

But even though the vaccines are free and readily available to Americans, the president faces a major challenge in immunizing the rest of the country.

Millions of people defy the recommendations of medical and health experts, and refuse to be vaccinated.

Precisely as misinformation about the safety and efficacy of vaccines spreads across the country.

2. Build Back Better

The centerpiece of Biden's national agenda -- a nearly $2 trillion economic and climate spending package -- remains stalled in the Senate, amid opposition from two Democratic senators.

West Virginia's Joe Manchin and Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema, to be exact.

The huge proposal includes key priorities of the Democratic Party, which its lawmakers meet before the midterm elections in November and while they still have control of the House, the Senate and the White House.

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber will vote on a revised version of the package that the House has already approved.

In that sense he said: "We will continue voting until we achieve something."

The final appearance of the package remains uncertain.

But, in the current bill, most of the funding is focused on reducing the cost of healthcare and children, as well as combating the climate crisis.

It would create universal pre-kindergarten, send families an enhanced child tax benefit, and provide beefed-up subsidies in Affordable Care Act exchanges.

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The White House will also focus this year on implementing the bipartisan infrastructure law, the first part of Biden's two-part infrastructure plan.

As well as promoting the benefits of the measure for Americans before the midterm elections.

3. Voting Rights

The president and Democrats in Congress are under pressure to pass legislation to protect access to the vote, amid efforts by Republicans across the country to make it harder for people to vote.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives passed a measure that combines key provisions of two major ballot bills, the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

However, his fate remains uncertain in the Senate.

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The problem is that Democrats don't have enough votes to pass ballot legislation under current Senate rules because of Republican opposition.

And they don't seem to have the votes to change those rules, either.

Manchin and Sinema have been adamant in their opposition to changing the filibuster rules, which require 60 votes to end debate on the legislation.

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The president recently stepped up efforts on the issue.

And he delivered a forceful speech in Atlanta, in which he promised to protect voting rights.

He also asked the Senate to amend the filibuster rules.

4. Inflation

Last month, prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly 40 years as the US economy continues to struggle to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Global supply chain issues, worker shortages and high consumer prices are all contributing to the economic anxiety currently gripping the country.

And, furthermore, it has caused Biden's approval ratings to drop.

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The White House took several steps to try to mitigate supply chain problems and ensure lower prices for Americans.

Like extending hours and speeding up operations at key ports and creating a working group dedicated to the problem.

In an attempt to reduce high gasoline prices, Biden ordered the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

It is the largest release from the reserve in US history, in coordination with other major countries.

The omicron variant now threatens to put renewed pressure on global supply chains and exacerbate existing problems that the government will work to manage this year.

5. Challenges in foreign policy

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Biden entered office promising to restore US credibility on the world stage.

Currently, he faces several foreign policy challenges that will test that commitment.

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Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine.

So the world is watching to see if President Vladimir Putin invades the nation.

US officials have grown increasingly pessimistic about the prospect of salvaging the Iran nuclear deal.

Indeed, they have warned against resorting to other options if diplomacy fails.

And China continues to be accused of forced labor and human rights abuses in the country's western Xinjiang region.

Especially in the wake of the disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden faces the challenge of defining the US role in the world under his administration, as well as responding to crises that may occur.

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