ACS Lawyer Chapters: Moving the Country Forward: What Issues Should the Biden-Harris Administration Focus on in the Second Half of 2021 and Beyond

Each Presidential Administration takes office with an extensive to-do list and the Biden-Harris Administration is no different. But time and resources are limited, necessitating the task of choosing policy priorities. A task made more difficult by a politically polarized Congress that may challenge any proposed legislation and a potentially adverse U.S. Supreme Court waiting to invalidate policies with which it does not agree.

This challenging political landscape does not mean there is no hope for progress; there are paths forward.

Join the ACS Virginia, At-Large, Washington, D.C., and Puget Sound Lawyer Chapters for a virtual discussion with a distinguished group of panelists.

Featuring:

Kami Chavis, Vice Provost, Professor of Law , Director of Criminal Justice Program, and ACS Faculty Advisor, Wake Forest University School of Law

Karin Anderson Ponzer, Director of Legal Services, Neighbors Link Community Law Practice

Lena Zwarensteyn, Fair Courts Campaign Senior Director, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights & The Leadership Conference Education Fund

John D'Elia, Assistant General Counsel, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

The Panel will seek to answer some of the following questions:

• What should be the Biden-Harris Administration's priorities before midterms?
• What are some of the barriers the Administration will face?
• What single action by the Biden-Harris Administration would have the greatest positive impact on the most lives?
• Is it better to focus on what can realistically be accomplished given the political realities or work for large, lasting changes and fail?
• What are the benefits vs disadvantages of primarily utilizing executive actions rather than a legislative agenda?
• Is there any hope for changing the political discourse and convincing the opposition to support some progressive policy initiatives? If so, what are the best proposals that could garner bipartisan support?
• What are some concrete things people interested in enacting progressive policies can do to help?