Policy • History • ImpactPromise Tracker
Promise Tracker groups this presidency term's records by status. The default view prioritizes promises with direct or meaningful downstream Black-community impact while keeping repeated administrations distinct.
This page covers the 2021-2025 term for Joseph R. Biden Jr..
All tracked promises for this president are visible, including secondary and deprioritized records.
Delivered
6
In Progress
1
Partial
10
Failed
3
Blocked
2
This presidency view groups curated Promise Tracker records by status. It keeps the records visible first, then points into Black Impact Score when you want a score summary built from the same public evidence base.
Records remain visible here even before they are complete enough for scoring. Open Black Impact Score when you want the summarized score view, then return to these record pages to verify the underlying actions, outcomes, and sources.
6 records in this status
Courts / Representation
Nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme CourtBiden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was confirmed as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Infrastructure / Economy
Pass a bipartisan infrastructure packageBiden signed a major bipartisan infrastructure law delivering large federal investment in transportation, broadband, and public works.
Public Health / COVID-19
Deliver 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots in the first 100 daysBiden met the 100 million shots goal and later doubled it to 200 million within the same 100-day period.
Biden rejoined the Paris climate accord immediately after taking office.
Climate / Energy
Revoke the Keystone XL pipeline permitBiden revoked the Keystone XL permit on day one, effectively ending the project.
LGBTQ Rights / Military
Reverse the ban on transgender military serviceBiden revoked the Trump-era transgender military service restrictions and restored open service.
1 record in this status
Tracked as in progress because the administration backed reform efforts and took some executive and agency steps, but no durable federal legislative settlement was completed.
10 records in this status
Education / HBCUs / MSIs
Make HBCUs and under-resourced MSIs more affordableBiden increased federal support for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions and paired that with student-relief measures, but the full tuition-grant vision was not enacted as proposed.
Housing / Affordability
Increase access to affordable housingBiden took administrative and legislative steps to expand housing assistance and supply, but the larger affordable-housing agenda was narrowed by congressional gridlock.
Labor / Workers
Strengthen federal labor protectionsBiden shifted labor policy through appointments and executive support, but large statutory reforms such as the PRO Act did not pass.
Government Equity
Advance racial equity across federal agenciesTracked as partial because the administration established a government-wide equity framework, but implementation depended on uneven agency follow-through and remained vulnerable to reversal.
Courts / Criminal Justice
Eliminate the federal death penaltyBiden halted new federal executions and later issued broad commutations for most people on federal death row, but he did not secure abolition of the federal death penalty.
Economic Policy / Anti-Poverty Tax Credits
Expand the Child Tax Credit and make it fully refundableBiden enacted a large temporary Child Tax Credit expansion through the American Rescue Plan, but the broader refundable expansion was not made permanent.
Government Equity / Racial Justice
Advance racial equity across the federal governmentBiden created a government-wide racial-equity framework, but implementation varied across agencies and did not produce a single durable statutory result.
Criminal Justice / DOJ Enforcement
End the federal use of private prisons and detention centersBiden moved to phase out private prisons in the federal criminal system, but the broader detention footprint, especially in immigration detention, remained in place.
Education / Student Debt
Forgive public-college tuition debt for many borrowersBiden pursued broad debt relief and delivered targeted cancellation, but the Supreme Court blocked the central mass-forgiveness plan and the original campaign promise was not fully realized.
Environmental Justice
Direct 40 percent of key clean-energy benefits to disadvantaged communitiesBiden created the Justice40 framework and tied it to major federal investment programs, but implementation was uneven and the full benefit standard remained difficult to verify in practice.
3 records in this status
Health Care
Offer a public option health insurance planBiden proposed a public option, but no such national plan was enacted during his presidency.
Workers / Wages
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15Biden supported a $15 federal minimum wage, but Congress did not enact it.
Criminal Justice / Pretrial Detention
Eliminate cash bailBiden endorsed ending cash bail, but no national federal policy matching that promise was enacted during his presidency.
2 records in this status
Voting Rights
Restore stronger federal voting-rights protectionsTracked as blocked because major voting-rights legislation advanced in the House but did not clear the Senate, leaving the central federal promise unmet.
Voting Rights / Criminal Justice
Restore voting rights after felony sentences are completedBiden expressed support for legislation that would expand voting rights after incarceration, but his administration did not create the promised incentives for states to restore those rights.