One thing the Senate and the president can do right away is pass the bill to restore the Voting Rights Act. Just yesterday, it was renamed in the Congress in memory of John Lewis... Protect that sacred right to vote that he was willing to die for. If they don't, I've been saying all along, it's one of the first things I'll do as president if elected.
Stated position. What this official has said they believe on this issue — a sourced claim, shown distinctly from any assessment of what they did. It is never scored and never affects the Integrity Score.
Derived from a tracked promise: “One thing the Senate and the president can do right away is pass the bill to restore the Voting Rights Act. Just yesterday, it was renamed i…”
Sources
- United States Senate (roll call vote record)https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00459.htm ↗
“On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Proceed to S. 4)”
- The American Presidency Project (Biden campaign speech transcript)https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/build-back-better-remarks-vice-president-joe-biden-racial-economic-equity-wilmington ↗
“'One thing the Senate and this President can do right away is pass the bill to restore the Voting Rights Act — just yesterday renamed in memory of John Lewis. ... If they don't, I've been saying all along, it's one of the first things I'll do as president if elected.'”
- The White House (archived official transcript)https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/01/11/remarks-by-president-biden-on-protecting-the-right-to-vote/ ↗
“we have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this”
“The plan commits to reversing Trump's transgender military ban. Biden would direct the Department of Defense to allow transgender service members to serve openly, receive needed medical treatment, and be free from discrimination.”
“The update reinforces our prior decision to allow recruitment, retention, and care of qualified trans individuals.”
- Federal Register (govinfo.gov)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-01-28/html/2021-02034.htm ↗
“It is my conviction as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces that gender identity should not be a bar to military service.”
- Times Live (reporting on Philadelphia Gay News interview)https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/world/2020-10-29-biden-in-lgbtq-interview-vows-to-pass-equality-act-in-first-100-days/ ↗
“Biden stated: 'I will make enactment of the Equality Act a top legislative priority during my first 100 days - a priority that Donald Trump opposes.' The statement was made in an email interview with Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal.”
- White House (Biden archives)https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/19/statement-by-president-joseph-r-biden-jr-on-the-introduction-of-the-equality-act-in-congress/ ↗
“I urge Congress to swiftly pass this historic legislation.”
“The Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, has been reintroduced by four Democratic legislators.”
“The bill will require 60 votes to advance in the upper chamber, and it is unclear whether 10 Republican senators would be willing to support the legislation.”
- WRAL / Reuters Fact Check (citing NowThis interview with Ady Barkan)https://www.wral.com/story/fact-check-biden-didn-t-say-yes-absolutely-to-defunding-police/19222776/ ↗
“Biden said in a July 8, 2020 NowThis interview with activist Ady Barkan: 'And by the way, not just redirect, condition them. If they don't eliminate chokeholds, they don't get Byrne grants. If they don't do the following, they don't get any help.' Audio of the statement was confirmed by the Biden campaign.”
- Federal Register (via govinfo.gov)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-05-31/html/2022-11810.htm ↗
“award Federal discretionary grants in a manner that supports and promotes the adoption of policies of this order by State, Tribal, local, and territorial governments and LEAs”
“Months of bipartisan negotiations over policing reform legislation have ended with no agreement, according to the lawmakers who led the process.”
- govinfo.gov (H.R. 1280, House-passed)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-117hr1280eh/html/BILLS-117hr1280eh.htm ↗
“a State or unit of local government may not receive funds under the Byrne grant program or the COPS grant program”
“Biden said at the ABC town hall in Philadelphia on October 15, 2020, responding to a mother of a transgender daughter: 'There should be zero discrimination,' and that he would 'flat-out change the law' to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender identity.”
“The Equality Act would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to explicitly prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
- Federal Register (via govinfo.gov)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-01-25/html/2021-01761.htm ↗
“All persons should receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.”
- govinfo.gov (Public Law 117-228)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-117publ228/html/PLAW-117publ228.htm ↗
“an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is between 2 individuals and is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into”
“Biden's Plan for Black America released May 2020 included a promise to 'decriminalize the use of cannabis and automatically expunge all prior cannabis use convictions,' presented alongside other criminal justice reforms including ending crack-versus-cocaine sentencing disparities and repealing mandatory minimums.”
- White House (archived)https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/10/06/granting-pardon-for-the-offense-of-simple-possession-of-marijuana/ ↗
“do hereby grant a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to (1) all current United States citizens and lawful permanent residents who committed the offense of simple possession of marijuana”
- Federal Register (via govinfo.gov)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-05-21/html/2024-11137.htm ↗
“proposes to transfer marijuana from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act”
“Biden said at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin on September 3, 2020: 'If I get elected president, I promise you there will be a national commission on policing out of the White House where I'll bring everyone to the table, including police chiefs, including civil rights activists, including the NAACP, including the African, the Latino community.'”
“White House Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice announced that the administration wouldn't pursue the police oversight commission it promised to establish in the president's first 100 days in office”
“But with weeks to go before Mr. Biden reaches the 100-day mark, he hasn't yet announced a board, and outside criminal justice and civil rights groups told CBS News they do not expect one.”
- Washington Bladehttps://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/08/05/biden-says-he-can-beat-hiv-by-2025-but-activists-are-skeptical/ ↗
“In a 20-page questionnaire submitted to a coalition of HIV/AIDS groups in June 2020, Biden pledged: 'As President, I will re-commit to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2025.' His goal was five years more ambitious than the Trump administration's 2030 target.”
- The White House (archived)https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/01/fact-sheet-the-biden-%E2%81%A0harris-administration-marks-world-aids-day-2021-with-renewed-commitments-to-ending-the-hiv-aids-epidemic-by-2030/ ↗
“releasing a new National HIV/AIDS Strategy to provide the framework and direction for the Administration's policies, research, programs, and planning through 2025 and lead us toward ending the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030”
- Centers for Disease Control and Preventionhttps://www.cdc.gov/hiv-data/nhss/estimated-hiv-incidence-and-prevalence.html ↗
“estimated HIV infections declining 12% overall in 2022 compared with 2018”
“Biden's LGBTQ plan included pledges to 'end the misuse of religious exemptions to enable anti-LGBTQ discrimination.' The plan stated: 'The Equality Act is the best vehicle for ensuring equal rights under the law for LGBTQ+ Americans, and will guarantee that LGBTQ+ individuals are protected under existing civil rights laws.'”
- Federal Register (govinfo.gov)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-03-01/html/2023-04150.htm ↗
“This action finalizes the proposal of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to rescind the final rule titled 'Implementing Legal Requirements Regarding the Equal Opportunity Clause's Religious Exemption.'”
- PolitiFact (citing joebiden.com/blackamerica/)https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/biden-promise-tracker/promise/1568/direct-federal-resources-help-prevent-violence-aga/ ↗
“Verbatim from Biden campaign website (joebiden.com/blackamerica/): 'Biden will direct federal resources to help prevent violence against transgender women, particularly transgender women of color.'”
- The White House (archived)https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/20/biden-harris-administration-memorializes-transgender-day-of-remembrance/ ↗
“the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to address the root causes of anti-transgender violence, discrimination, and denial of economic opportunity”
- The American Presidency Project (Biden campaign statement)https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-vice-president-joe-biden-the-epidemic-violence-against-transgender-and-gender ↗
“'Violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people, particularly Black and Brown transgender women, is an epidemic that needs national leadership. As President, I will put forward comprehensive solutions to help empower the transgender and gender non-conforming community and prioritize the prosecution of anti-transgender violence.'”
“A South Carolina man was found guilty Friday of killing a Black transgender woman in the nation's first federal trial over a hate crime based on gender identity.”
- Federal Register (govinfo.gov)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-06-21/html/2022-13391.htm ↗
“The Federal Government must defend the rights and safety of LGBTQI+ individuals.”
- The White House (archived Executive Order 14075)https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/06/15/executive-order-on-advancing-equality-for-lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer-and-intersex-individuals/ ↗
“consider whether so-called conversion therapy constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice, and to issue such consumer warnings or notices as may be appropriate”
“My order will use a full force the federal government to prevent inhumane practices of conversion therapy”
- Office of Management and Budget (memorandum M-24-01)https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-01-Increasing-the-Share-of-Contract-Dollars-Awarded-to-Small-Disadvantaged-Businesses_Final.pdf ↗
“the E.O. creates a Government-wide goal for Federal procurement dollars awarded to SDBs of 15 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025”
- U.S. Small Business Administrationhttps://www.sba.gov/article/2025/01/10/biden-harris-administration-awards-record-breaking-183b-federal-contracts-small-businesses-marking ↗
“small, disadvantaged businesses received $78.1 billion, another record again surpassing FY23”
- The White House (archived fact sheet)https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/01/25/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-actions-to-expand-small-business-access-to-federal-contracts/ ↗
“increasing the share of federal contracting dollars going to small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (SDBs) to 15% by Fiscal Year (FY) 2025”
- PolitiFact (citing joebiden.com/blackamerica/)https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/biden-promise-tracker/promise/1531/end-federal-governments-use-private-prisons-and-de/ ↗
“Verbatim from Biden campaign website (joebiden.com/blackamerica/): 'Biden will end the federal government's use of private prisons...And, he will make clear that the federal government should not use private facilities for any detention, including detention of undocumented immigrants.'”
- The White House (archived)https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/26/executive-order-reforming-our-incarceration-system-to-eliminate-the-use-of-privately-operated-criminal-detention-facilities/ ↗
“The Attorney General shall not renew Department of Justice contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities, as consistent with applicable law.”
- Federal Bureau of Prisonshttps://www.bop.gov/news/20221201_ends_use_of_privately_owned_prisons.jsp ↗
“The contract with the last private prison, McRae Correctional Facility, located in McRae, Georgia, ended on November 30, 2022.”
“Another important gap is that this order does not apply to immigration detention”