Patch Readers: Biden Should Prioritize COVID-19 Response, Unity

RESTON, VA — As President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take office, they're facing many challenges on a number of fronts, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the aftermath of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, and the reality of governing a politically divided nation.

Patch asked its readers on Neighbor Posts and social media what they thought should be Biden's priorities as he begins his term as president.

On Facebook, several Reston residents argued about whether to charge President Trump with treason, but the consensus of comments echoed Biden's call for "unity" during his inaugural speech.

"We choose to heal as a country when we start to be accountable for what we do wrong and forgive one another," Lindsay Molina of Reston said. "It’s time for everyone to take a deep breath, grow up and agree that our country is broken and now needs unity and basic common decency. Now. Our children and we deserve that. No more hate. No more bullying. Enough."

Tom from Leesburg offered a numbered list of things Biden should prioritize as he begins his term as president:

1. Getting our economy and schools back open, which includes the widespread administration of COVID-19 vaccinations. You can't prop up our economy with deficit spending and poorly crafted "relief" packages.
2. Balancing the budget and getting us on a path to pay down the national debt, because nothing else will matter if we place our country into an irretrievable debt spiral.
3. Stopping the imminent waves of illegal immigration, which includes removing all incentives that encourage illegal immigration. This impacts our national health with the COVID situation, fiscal health with increased spending on immigration enforcement, and our jobs/economy with wage depression and taking jobs that Americans need. Let's focus on improving legal immigration rather than trying to legalize, condone, or excuse illegal behavior.
4. Getting both parties to focus on and unite around the practical needs of American citizens rather than dividing us with partisan political warfare. This includes a reorientation of our public dialog around issues and policies, with mutual respect for each others views, rather than propagandistic demonization of people and personalities based on their political affiliations.

Other readers shared the following ideas for Biden's agenda in Neighbor and Facebook posts:

"To achieve 'unity,' modifying progressive agendas to accommodate concerns of the 74 million voters who supported president Trump's policies." — Allen Dunn, Arlington

"Vaccine distribution to everyone who wants it!" — Ellyn S Wexler, Reston

"COVID vaccinations without them the dead will keep piling up." — Hal Donahue, Leesburg

"Regulating social media immediately. Without their complicity, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now. They bear a large responsibility. It is high time they are held accountable and are compelled to follow the rules other media follow (since they obviously can’t do it on their own)." — Martine Allen, Reston

"COVID vaccine!" — Dana Berry Travis, Reston

"Speeding up production and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines." — Meredith Sweeney, Reston

"COVID-19 vaccine roll-out." — Thomas GL, Reston