Covid Will Largely Shape Next 100 Days Of Biden Administration, As Well

Politico: Why Biden’s Next 100 Days Are Pivotal For The Covid Fight 
President Joe Biden’s first 100 days saw real gains against the pandemic, but the next 100 days — and the 100 days after that — will determine how well Covid-19 is contained. And containment, not eradication, is the most realistic goal: Public health experts say the coronavirus is here for the long haul. Now, the challenge for Biden, his response team and state health officials will be managing the rolling series of outbreaks possibly driven by more dangerous virus variants, while avoiding the wishful thinking of the Trump administration, which downplayed the disease's lethality. (Kenen and Goldberg, 4/30)

AP: Biden's Agenda: What Can Pass And What Faces Steep Odds
President Joe Biden laid out a long list of policy priorities in his speech to Congress — and some are more politically plausible than others. The two parties are working together in some areas, including on changes to policing and confronting the rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans. But Republicans are likely to block other Democratic initiatives on immigration and voting rights. On some of Biden’s top priorities, Democrats may choose to find ways to cut out Republicans entirely. The president told lawmakers that “doing nothing is not an option” when it comes to his two massive infrastructure proposals, which would cost $4.1 trillion. (Jalonick, 4/30)

The Washington Post: At The 100-Day Mark, Has Biden Kept His Campaign Promises? 
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden’s advisers often tracked the promises made in his speeches as a way to formulate their early agenda. As he entered office, they viewed the coronavirus as the issue on which his presidency would be most judged, which has guided many of their early decisions and promises — around vaccinations, school reopenings and mask mandates. But President Biden also has a long list of other promises, including climate change, gun control, tax policy and ending foreign wars. Critics say that some of his early estimates appear to have been set low, so he can over-deliver on key issues early in his presidency. Here’s a look at which promises Biden has met, which he has started to address and which he has altered or abandoned. (Santamarina, Viser and Still, 4/27)

Roll Call: Top 3 Health Care Takeaways From Biden’s Address 
President Joe Biden delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. With a sparse, distanced audience in the House chamber, the COVID-19 pandemic was evident to anyone watching. While Biden pitched his proposed economic and families package to lawmakers and the public, he also made a few health care pushes during his address. (McKinless and McIntire, 4/29)

In more news about President Biden's health agenda —

Seattle Times: U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra Touts Biden’s Families Plan At White Center Health Clinic 
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra visited a White Center community health center Thursday, touting the billions of dollars in funding increases the Biden administration is delivering to such clinics and promoting the president’s plan to spend billions more on family and medical leave, pre-K and community college. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that congressional Democrats passed last month will give more than $6 billion in funding to federally qualified health centers, like the Sea Mar White Center Medical Clinic, which Becerra toured Thursday. (Gutman, 4/29)

The Washington Post: Biden Has Delivered Vaccines. Now Comes The Hard Part. 
President Biden offered voters a singular promise when he campaigned for the White House: He would do a better job on the coronavirus pandemic than Donald Trump. Accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in August, he pledged that “the first step I will take will be to get control of the virus that’s ruined so many lives.” Declaring victory three months later, he said, “I will spare no effort — or commitment — to turn this pandemic around.” Now, 100 days into his presidency, Biden can point to a host of figures showing that he has kept his promise, from plunging death rates to soaring vaccination numbers. (Linskey, 4/27)

The Washington Post: How Have Biden’s Policies Helped American Women? 
On Wednesday night, for the first time ever, two women sat behind the president of the United States as he addressed Congress. President Biden was joined by Vice President Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. To many, the image was symbolic of vision the president outlined in his “agenda for women,” in which he pledged to bring American women closer to equality. At the outset of Biden’s term, The Lily asked leading advocates and experts on child care, equal pay, health equity, LGBTQ rights and gender violence to weigh in on what we could expect from the Biden administration. (Branigin, 4/29)

The Washington Post: Paid Leave Is Central To Biden’s American Families Plan 
Every two years, like clockwork, federal lawmakers have tried to pass legislation mandating paid family leave. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced their family leave bill in 2013 — and again in 2015, 2017 and 2019.In 2021, the United States remains the only industrialized country in the world where parents are not guaranteed paid leave. (Kitchener, 4/28)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: 100 Days Of Health Policy
It’s been a busy 100 days for the Biden administration on health policy. The promise Joe Biden made as president-elect to get 100 million covid vaccinations in arms was doubled, healthcare.gov reopened to those without insurance, and steps were taken to undo a raft of health policies implemented by President Donald Trump. The covid relief bill passed by Congress in March also boosted subsidies for those who buy their own coverage and provided incentives for the 12 states that have yet to expand their Medicaid programs under the ACA. (4/29)

Also —

The Washington Post: Biden’s Stance On Abortion Rights Triggers U.S. Catholic Bishops Spring Debate On Communion Rights
Having a U.S. president who attends Mass week after week and talks about his faith is powerful to millions of American Catholics. But to millions of others, a Catholic U.S. president enacting one policy after another in favor of abortion access is a source of shame. This conflict is now headed directly at the U.S. church’s leadership group, which plans a vote about it at its spring conference. Catholic leaders, like their massive flock, are deeply divided about Biden, only the second U.S. president to come from the country’s largest faith group. Since his election, the increasingly loud right wing of the church has made clear that Biden cannot continue to expand abortion rights and call himself Catholic and go unchallenged. (Boorstein, 4/29)