Biden White House has a lot on its economic plate before term ends

Lindsay Owens of the Groundwork Collaborative points to relief from junk fees and medical debt as well as policy fights around taxes.

When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, he set out to change the course of the economy by strengthening key industries and making public investments in everything from infrastructure and semiconductor supply chains to clean energy and the environment.

Amid intense focus on this year’s presidential campaign, Biden has stepped out of the race. Yet before Biden’s terms ends, plenty of work is still to be done from the Oval Office and by the executive branch.

Lindsay Owens has been thinking about this. She’s executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic think tank. Owens discussed the administration’s economic agenda with “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

David Brancaccio: President Biden has gotten the CHIPS and Science Act, the infrastructure law and a lot more going. Is there much that can be done in — well, it’s actually less than six months left before a new president takes the chair?

Lindsay Owens: There’s actually an incredible amount the Biden administration can do in these final six months to give consumers some continued relief, things like finishing the junk fees rule to save consumers billions in unexpected fees that are tacked on at the end of online transactions. Or finalizing the rules to get medical debt off credit reports so a cancer diagnosis doesn’t also mean you can never become a homeowner.

Brancaccio: A big piece of legislation had the name Inflation Reduction Act, but it’s full of many, many long-term projects — not the least of which is mitigating climate change and girding us for the effects of climate change. Something like the Inflation Reduction Act is not, at this stage, “set it and forget it,” the wheels are turning and there’s already momentum.

Owens: It’s not just about passing the legislation. The agencies promulgate rules, and there’s a critical effort around ensuring that there’s an active defense if folks in future administrations or future Congresses try to undercut some of the progress that’s been made in the Inflation Reduction Act. And also teeing up important policy fights that are slated for next year, foremost among them the upcoming expiration of key provisions in President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which are slated to expire next year.

Brancaccio: And we still have the executive branch working on enforcement for a number of provisions, but you wouldn’t expect that to be finished this year. Some might not even be done for a couple of years.

Owens: That’s exactly right. Aggressive Biden administration enforcement actions are still winding their ways through the courts. Just last month, the Department of Justice sued the software company that is helping your landlord connect with other landlords down the street to fix rental prices. And so a company like that being put out of business is a huge win for millions of tenants who are seeing their rent prices higher than they’d like. And wins like that may take months and years to finally come to completion.

Brancaccio: You’re pretty impressed with the Biden economic record. What’s your best theory for why the president’s performance on the economy doesn’t get higher ratings from the public?

Owens: Inflation has, of course, been a real pain point for Americans of all stripes. And inflation coming down, I think, is going to give folks a much rosier picture of the economy over the long haul. That being said, there was a serious cost-of-living crisis in this country well before inflation started to tick up. The biggest-ticket items in this country — child care, housing, higher education, health care — these items matter a lot to families, and they’re the biggest items on the household balance sheet. And they’re still unaffordable for many families. And so I think until policymakers are able to address some of those most pressing concerns for families, it’s hard to imagine really anyone getting superhigh marks.