Joe Biden's Radical Plan to Fix US Economy

During the first meeting of the White House's Council on Supply Chain Resilience on Monday, President Joe Biden is expected to invoke a Cold War-era law to fix a problem that has plagued his presidency after the pandemic, in a radical move aimed at boosting the U.S. economy.

The council will announce 30 actions to increase investment in U.S. medicines and medical supplies manufacturing, as well as other industrial supply chains that have been profoundly disrupted by COVID-19, according to the White House.

Disruptions in the U.S. supply chains contributed to higher inflation and a higher cost of living, squeezing consumers and proving a political headache for Biden and his administration.

As a response to these troubles, the Biden will appeal to the Defense Production Act (DPA), originally passed in 1950, to give the Department of Health and Human Services authorization to enable investments in "essential medicines," according to a statement by the White House.

The White House has deemed the medical manufacturing sector as of crucial importance for national security. Other areas included in the investments cover "medical countermeasures," supplies to prevent, diagnose and treat any diseases that may come in a war-related context—be it chemical, biological or nuclear.

"These [30] actions will help Americans get the products they need when they need them, enable reliable deliveries for businesses, strengthen our agriculture and food systems, and support good-paying, union jobs here at home," the White House said, adding that the move was part of the president's "Bidenomics agenda to lower costs for American families."

"We're determined to keep working to bring down prices for American consumers and ensure the resilience of our supply chains for the future," said Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council and a co-chair of the new supply chain council, according to ABC News.

While Brainard noted that supply chain disruptions have decreased since the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, he said that more work needs to be done.

The move, if successful, could boost Biden's popularity as well as the U.S. economy, adding a spring in the step of the president's floundering 2024 campaign.

As of November 22, 55 percent of Americans disapproved of the job Biden is doing,according to FiveThirtyEight, with only 38.9 percent approving. His likely opponent in the 2024 general election, former President Donald Trump, was gaining ground in key crucial battleground states.

According to recent polls by the New York Times and Siena College, Trump had a majority of the vote in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Biden led only in Wisconsin.

Newsweek reached out to the White House by email on Monday for comment.

The supply chain council will be led by Brainard and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, It will include the Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs secretaries; the attorney general; the administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Small Business Administration; the directors of National Intelligence, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy; the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers; the U.S. trade representative; and other senior officials from the Executive Office of the President and other agencies.