U.S. President to sign order to increase pandemic

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will sign two executive orders aimed at speeding pandemic stimulus checks to families who need it most and increasing food aid for children who normally rely on school meals as a main source for nutrition. In the first order, Biden will ask the Treasury Department to consider taking steps to expand and improve delivery of stimulus checks, such as establishing online tools for claiming payments.

“Many Americans faced challenges receiving the first round of direct payments and as many as 8 million eligible households did not receive the payments issued in March,” a White House fact sheet said.

Biden will also seek to increase access to food for millions of children who are missing meals because schools are closed due to the pandemic.

Biden’s second order will restore collective bargaining power and worker protections by revoking three related orders issued by President Donald Trump during his term, which ended on Wednesday. It also promotes a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

The federal minimum wage has been at $7.25 an hour since 2009.