Tracking politicians' promises

The Promise:

"As President, Biden will strengthen our democracy by guaranteeing that every American’s vote is protected. He will start by passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act to update section 4 of the Voting Rights Act and develop a new process for pre-clearing election changes."

Update: President Joe Biden broke promise to update the Voting Rights Act

The Promise:

"To bolster retirement security for older African Americans who have spent a lifetime working, the Biden Social Security reform plan will raise benefits for vulnerable beneficiaries—including widows and widowers, low-wage workers, and long duration beneficiaries who may have exhausted all other assets. In addition, Biden proposes to boost average benefits across the board while putting Social Security on a long-term path to solvency by raising payroll taxes for workers with more than $400,000 in earnings."

Update: No expansion of Social Security benefits enacted

The Promise:

"Biden will create a new public credit reporting and scoring division within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to provide consumers with a government option that seeks to minimize racial disparities, for example by ensuring the algorithms used for credit scoring don’t have a discriminatory impact, and by accepting non-traditional sources of data like rental history and utility bills to establish credit. "

Update: Biden fails to launch a new public credit reporting agency

The Promise:

"I promise you there will be a national commission on policing out of the White House where I’ll bring everyone to the table, including police chiefs, including civil rights activists, including the NAACP, including the African, the Latino community. We’re going to sit down there and we’re going to work it out."

Update: Joe Biden compromises on promise to create commission to address policing issues

The Promise:

"Introduce a constitutional amendment to entirely eliminate private dollars from our federal elections. Biden believes it is long past time to end the influence of private dollars in our federal elections. As president, Biden will fight for a constitutional amendment that will require candidates for federal office to solely fund their campaigns with public dollars, and prevent outside spending from distorting the election process. This amendment will do far more than just overturn Citizens United: it will return our democracy to the people and away from the corporate interests that seek to distort it."

Update: Narrow constitutional amendment proposals went nowhere under Biden

The Promise:

"Biden will propose legislation codifying what should be a simple tenet of campaign finance law: any group that advocates for or against candidates for federal office in its ads or communications must disclose its contributors. No more hiding behind 'dark money' groups to spread lies. This law will require all online ads, how they’re targeted, and who paid for them to be posted by the groups to a public database on a new one-stop website, ethics.gov — so no one can target voters with misinformation without attracting media or political attention."

Update: Election transparency effort withers after initial progress

The Promise:

"As president, Biden will enact legislation requiring that every candidate for federal office disclose returns dating back 10 years prior to the date they declared their candidacy for their first federal office."

Update: Twin efforts to require tax return disclosure fail to make it to Biden’s desk

The Promise:

"To create more competition for U.S. drug corporations, Biden will allow consumers to import prescription drugs from other countries, as long as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has certified that those drugs are safe."

Update: Biden FDA approves Florida request to import drugs from Canada, but state didn't act

The Promise:

"Double the number of immigration judges, court staff, and interpreters."

Update: Joe Biden hired more immigration judges, but didn’t double their ranks

The Promise:

"The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United is wrong and should be overturned by a constitutional amendment – but we can’t wait to limit its pernicious effect. As president, Biden will work to enact legislation ensuring that SuperPACs are wholly independent of campaigns and political parties, from establishment, to fundraising and spending."

Update: Proposal to restrict super PACs fizzles after House passage in 2021

The Promise:

"Make public colleges and universities, as well as private HBCUs and MSIs, tuition-free for all families with incomes below $125,000."

Update: Joe Biden breaks promise to offer free college tuition to families earning less than $125,000 a year

The Promise:

Enact legislation "to ensure that every hard-working individual, including those attending school part-time and DREAMers (young adults who came to U.S. as children), can go to community college for up to two years without having to pay tuition."

Update: Joe Biden’s free community college plan failed to get congressional support

The Promise:

"Joe Biden will enact legislation to once again ban assault weapons. This time, the bans will be designed based on lessons learned from the 1994 bans. For example, the ban on assault weapons will be designed to prevent manufacturers from circumventing the law by making minor changes that don’t limit the weapon’s lethality."

Update: Joe Biden failed to deliver on promise to ban assault weapons

The Promise:

"Provide Section 8 housing vouchers to every eligible family so that no one has to pay more than 30% of their income for rental housing."

Update: Biden falls short on promise to provide Section 8 vouchers to ‘every’ eligible family

The Promise:

"Biden will lead a national effort to end cash bail and reform our pretrial system ... As President, Biden will establish a technical assistance program to help state and local jurisdictions transition to a fair, equitable and effective pretrial system that does not rely on cash bail. "

Update: Joe Biden didn’t act to advance campaign promise on eliminating cash bail