[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 71 (Monday, April 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2190-S2191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             First 100 Days

  Madam President, now, on our first 100 days, Thursday, the 29th, will 
be the 100th day since President Biden took the oath of office on the 
East Front of the Capitol. President Biden will mark the occasion with 
his inaugural address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
  Historically, the first 100 days have been a yardstick by which 
Presidential administrations have been measured. For the first time in 
recent history, however, due to the lateness of the Georgia runoff 
elections, Thursday also marks the 100th day of the new Democratic 
Senate majority and, on a personal note, my 100th day as majority 
leader.
  Without exaggeration, the first 100 days of the Biden administration 
and the Senate Democratic majority have been more productive than 
nearly any in recent memory. Despite a delay in passing the organizing 
resolution and the time constraints imposed by the Presidential 
impeachment trial, the Senate has confirmed the most diverse Cabinet in 
history, faster than either of the prior two administrations. Every 
single Cabinet Secretary received a bipartisan vote in favor of 
confirmation.
  Last week, by a vote of 94 to 1--again, led by the Presiding Officer 
and Senator Hirono--the Senate passed legislation to combat the recent 
surge in hate crimes, particularly against Americans of Asian descent. 
Then, of course, Congress passed the landmark legislation and the top 
priority of the Biden administration, the American Rescue Plan. It was 
the most sweeping Federal recovery effort in a generation, more than 
twice the size of the stimulus package after the financial crisis of 
2008.
  The Democrats promised big, bold relief. The Democrats have delivered 
big, bold relief. As a result, vaccinations are up; unemployment is 
down; and businesses, schools, restaurants, and bars are finally--
finally--starting to reopen. It is no wonder that more than 70 percent 
of Americans approve of the way that the Biden-Harris administration 
has handled the pandemic in the first 100 days.
  For much of the past year, the country has been plagued by two major 
crises: a public health crisis and an economic crisis. That is what the 
Biden-Harris administration and the Senate Democratic majority 
inherited when they assumed power back in January. Let's look at how 
the country has progressed on both fronts.
  First, when it comes to the pandemic, we have far outstripped even

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the rosiest of predictions for the number of vaccinations. President 
Biden initially promised 100 million vaccinations to be administered in 
the first 100 days, but the pace of vaccinations was so fast that the 
President had to double his initial goal to 200 million in the first 
100 days, and we have already reached it. It is fair to say that, in 
the first 100 days, America is winning the all-important ``arms race'' 
to get our citizens vaccinated.
  On the most important measure of progress--getting the country 
protected against COVID-19--the new Democratic administration and 
congressional majorities have been a roaring success. Thanks to the 
American Rescue Plan, our economy has gotten its own shot in the arm, 
too. Over the past several weeks, the Biden administration has 
delivered more than 150 million stimulus checks to the Americans who 
have needed them the most.
  Weekly unemployment claims have fallen to their lowest level during 
the pandemic. The month of March saw the economy create nearly 900,000 
jobs. Retail sales are surging. Consumer confidence has rebounded. 
Economic forecasters are now projecting that our economy could grow as 
fast as 7 percent this year. In the wake of the American Rescue Plan, 
the economic boost was so significant that forecasters had to increase 
their projections for global growth as well.
  Our former President blithely predicted that electing Joe Biden would 
crash the stock market. It turns out President Biden's first 100 days 
have delivered the best stock market results in 75 years, since 
President Eisenhower.
  At the same time, the Democratic majority in Congress has made sure 
that our Nation's economic recovery will be felt by everyone. The 
American Rescue Plan is expected to boost incomes of the lowest 20 
percent by 20 percent. Guess what those in the top 1 percent will 
receive? It will be so contrary to what the Republicans did when they 
had power. They will get zero percent instead of the overwhelming 
percentage in their bill, their tax cuts. Just one policy in the 
American Rescue Plan--the historic expansion of the child tax credit--
is expected to cut child poverty in half.
  The story of the first 100 days is about shots going into arms, 
checks going into pockets, and life finally returning to normal. The 
story of the first 100 days is about the country turning a corner and 
seeing some hope on the horizon. More broadly, the first 100 days of 
this administration and this Congress have proven two things: one, that 
the government can work for the American people; and, two, that the 
Senate can legislate.
  The last few decades have brought faith in our government to alltime 
lows. You don't have to look very far in the past to find surveys about 
how Congress has been less popular than traffic jams, root canals, and 
Genghis Khan. Faith in our democracy and trust in our elections were 
brought to new lows by the persistent and mendacious lies by the former 
President, culminating in an armed insurrection here in the Capitol.
  Part of our mission here in Congress, in working with the Biden 
administration, is to restore Americans' faith in our institutions and 
Americans' faith in our government. Through the American Rescue Plan 
and the successful roll-out of the vaccine, we are slowly proving to 
the American people that government can work for them.
  So we have a long way to go, but in the first hundred days, this new 
Congress has made an important downpayment. Congressional approval is 
now the highest it has been since June of 2009.
  Here in the Senate, the first hundred days have shown that this 
Chamber can legislate. Bipartisan work on the anti-Asian hates crime 
bill, the water bill this week, and hopefully an American 
competitiveness bill in the coming weeks proves that there are still 
many issues that unite Republicans and Democrats. Of course, our two 
parties are not always going to agree. In those instances, the Senate 
must still make progress on the challenges of our time. We did that 
through the American Rescue Plan.
  So in the first hundred days, the Senate has accomplished a lot more 
than most observers might have predicted. The next hundred days will 
bring more of the same.

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