Joe Biden is not confident about winning reelection. We know this because of the approach he 's taking to secure his "legacy."
With Congress in perpetual gridlock, the only way that Biden can force his agenda down the throats of Americans is by enabling his regulators to come up with ever more inventive and coercive ways to control our lives.
But there's a problem. The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to repeal federal regulations within 60 legislative days after they are issued. The number of "legislative days" before the end of the calendar year is dwindling so Biden has just a week or so to get all the regulations he wants on the books.
The new regulations are designed "to bolster his support among constituencies including young people, labor unions, rural communities and climate-conscious voters," according to Politico.
It's a plethora of goodies for his friends in the labor and environmental movement.
Among the areas that Biden is going to regulate are the "climate footprint" of corporate America, abortion protections, and healthcare for illegal aliens.
The Wall Street regulator adopted a new rule in March aimed at arming investors with new and detailed information from publicly traded companies in the U.S. about their carbon emissions, how they are navigating the changing climate and the risks their businesses face from severe weather events.
Once a key item on the White House’s climate to-do list, the rule could prove fruitful for Biden on the campaign trail even though it’s tied up in court. The president is pushing to win over younger voters who want stronger and bolder moves on climate change.
On abortion, the administration is looking to shield women from being investigated for obtaining an abortion. That's not really the problem; Biden overstepping federal authority to do it is.
In April, the Biden administration finalized rules allowing the federal government to use a health privacy law — commonly known as HIPAA — to safeguard access to abortion. The rules, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, bolster protections for people seeking, obtaining or providing abortions from investigation in states with significant limits on the procedure.
Biden will also make sure that children whose parents arrived in the U.S. illegally will get healthcare.
Obamacare plans will be open to tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children but do not qualify for government-subsidized health insurance because of their legal status, under a Biden administration rule finalized this month.
The announcement comes as Biden moves to make health care and his defense of the Affordable Care Act a centerpiece of his reelection bid as his campaign accuses Trump of planning to dismantle the system.
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There are also a slew of goodies for organized labor.
The Labor Department is expanding overtime pay guarantees to an estimated four million workers and imposing strict fiduciary obligations on sellers of retirement investments like annuities and 401(k) rollovers. The Federal Trade Commission — testing the bounds of its authority — voted last month to ban nearly all forms of agreements that keep workers from joining a competing business.
Constitution? What Constitution?
While Biden might avoid congressional oversight on some of these regulations, it won't prevent a slew of lawsuits from being filed by states, companies, and individuals. The sad fact is, most of these regulations will probably become law.
And a little bit more freedom will be lost.
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