Biden orders expanded aid to address growing hunger crisis

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden is ordering an expansion of government benefits for hungry Americans, after the coronavirus pandemic ignited the worst hunger crisis the US has seen in modern times.

The decree, one of two executive orders the White House said he will sign Friday, is modest and far short of the actions the president has called for from Congress.

Nonetheless, it represents one of Biden’s first actions since taking office aimed at reviving the world’s largest economy, after Covid-19 caused mass layoffs that have left many people scrambling to pay the bills.

“The American people can’t afford to wait. And so many are hanging by a thread, they need help, and we are committed to doing everything we can to provide that help as quickly as possible,” said Brian Deese, director of the White House’s National Economic Council.

Biden’s main initiative to turn the economy around is a US$1.9 trillion ‘rescue’ package that he outlined last week, followed by a promised proposal aimed at fueling job creation and spurring hiring. The orders also instruct government agencies to help people quickly access federal stimulus payments, allow workers to leave jobs that could jeopardise their health, and expand protections for federal workers, while laying the groundwork for a minimum wage increase for federal contractors.

Even after two massive government aid packages, the US economy is reeling from the damage caused by the pandemic, which has seen the death toll soar to 400,000.

The Labour Department reported more than 1.3 million new applications for unemployment were filed last week. Amid the widespread joblessness many families are struggling to pay for groceries; the Commerce Department reported in midDecember that 13.7 per cent of adults lived in households where they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat.