From the New York Times:
By Zach Montague and Vimal Patel
Zach Montague reported from Washington and Vimal Patel reported from New York.
Dec. 20, 2024
The Biden administration on Friday withdrew some of its main outstanding plans to enact significant federal student loan forgiveness and to set rules around the participation of transgender athletes on school sports teams.
The regulations were, at one time, among the administration’s top education policy priorities, and the decision to pull down the proposed regulations was a tacit acknowledgment that they would go nowhere under the administration of incoming President-elect Donald J. Trump.
And from Politico, even more good news:Throughout 2024, POLITICO’s “Biden’s Billions” series has documented the halting pace, uneven progress and genuine economic impact of a spending blueprint rivaling Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. With just weeks left in Biden’s term, it’s not at all certain his legacy will endure in the same way.
Much of it remains a work in progress.
Solar installations have surged to record levels, but the country is not adding enough zero-carbon electricity to meet Biden’s climate targets. A $42 billion expansion of broadband internet service has yet to connect a single household.
Bureaucratic haggling, equipment shortages and logistical challenges mean a $7.5 billion effort to install electric vehicle chargers from coast to coast has so far yielded just 47 stations in 15 states.
Republicans say they intend to scrutinize much of Biden’s spending with an eye toward clawing it back, including dollars going out the door in Biden’s remaining weeks such as financing to the EV maker Rivian. Tax credits for electric vehicles could be eliminated.
In all, Congress provided $1.1 trillion for Biden’s big climate, clean energy and infrastructure programs. More than half of that spending — at least $561 billion — has yet to be obligated or is not yet available for agencies to spend, according to a POLITICO analysis of federal data.
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