<p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5ff5cd096d61c10019ccde39-2400/GettyImages-1291808560.jpg" border="0" alt="GettyImages chuck schumer" data-mce-source="Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)."></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Democrats' <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-senate-runoffs-loeffler-warnock-ossoff-perdue-live-results-2021-1">projected wins</a> in the Georgia Senate runoffs are great news for the incoming Biden administration. </p><p>Instead of haggling with Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell on everything from stimulus bills to Cabinet nominations, Joe Biden will have a Democratic ally, New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, helping to usher through his policy goals. </p><p>Whoever holds the Senate majority dictates which bills and nominations get votes on the floor. The party in charge also controls committees, where the leaders decide what hearings to hold, which issues to investigate, and which administration officials to haul up to Capitol Hill for questioning. </p><p>Democrats leapt into action on Wednesday plotting their next moves, and progressives are already pushing Biden to plow ahead with ambitious nominations and policies now that control of the Senate has been decided. </p><p>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats on Wednesday morning that she wants to pass major voting rights reforms, Politico <a href="https://twitter.com/heatherscope/status/1346824130553933828's=20">reported</a>. And a progressive advocacy group is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/06/liberals-to-breyer-retire-455321">already pressuring</a> Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire to allow Biden to replace him. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-georgia-senate-runoff-2000-stimulus-checks-immediately-2021-1">Biden has also promised</a> a win in Georgia would pave the way for $2,000 stimulus checks to be sent out "immediately" once he takes office. </p><p>Despite the Democratic victories, Washington remains deeply polarized, and Biden will face plenty of opposition on Capitol Hill. </p><p>Even with Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock replacing Georgia Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, the Senate breakdown will be 50-50. That includes two independents, Vermont's Bernie Sanders and Maine's Angus King, who caucus with Democratsand incoming Vice President Kamala Harris will cast the deciding votes. </p><p>Democrats will still need to look for bipartisan compromise to get any major legislation through in a chamber with a razor-thin majority. Nominations only require a majority of votes to clear the Senate, but most legislation requires 60 votes.</p><p>Here's what to expect on major policy issues with Democrats in control of the White House and both branches of Congress. </p><h2>Abortion</h2><ul><li>Democratic leaders want to repeal the Hyde Amendment, a spending rider that prevents federal dollars from paying for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest or if a pregnancy is life-threatening.</li><li>That the Democratic-controlled House hasn't brought such a bill to the floor shows how divisive the issue is for centrist members of the party.</li><li>Democrats are likely to hold hearings on the issue; they say it's unfair to low-income people who can't afford abortions.</li></ul><h2>Cabinet nominations</h2><ul><li>Biden will have much more leeway to pick his top administration officials since he doesn't need the backing of Senate Republicans.</li><li>Controversial Cabinet picks he's already named and future nominees, including his upcoming choice to be attorney general, will face an easier path with Democrats controlling the upper chamber.</li><li>Democrats can also move nominations along more quickly when they're setting the Senate floor vote schedule.</li></ul><h2>Cannabis</h2><ul><li>Many congressional Democrats <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-congress-marijuana-vote-more-act-cannabis-decriminalization-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">support</a> decriminalizing cannabis while imposing taxes and more-uniform regulations, but it's not clear they'll have enough votes in the Senate to do so in 2021.</li><li>Congress could reintroduce a bill that would allow cannabis companies to access banking services, which would help businesses in states that have legalized the drug.</li><li>The banking provision could be included in a coronavirus stimulus measure.</li></ul><h2>Climate change</h2><ul><li>Biden has said climate change is one of the four major crises facing the nation and it's a chief concern for many Senate Democrats.</li><li>The new president will ask Congress for help with his plan to tackle climate and infrastructure challenges with a $2 trillion spending plan that would boost clean-energy efforts.</li><li>But a slim Democratic majority isn't likely to back such sweeping climate spending or a cap-and-trade approach that has failed under bigger Democratic majorities back during the Obama era.</li></ul><h2>Court nominations</h2><ul><li>A Democratic Senate will have a much easier time clearing Biden's picks for federal courts.</li><li>It could also pave the way for confirmation of a more liberal Supreme Court justice if there's a vacancy.</li><li>Democrats could clear nominees without winning any GOP votes, but they'll have to have the support of all their centrist members who sometimes vote with the GOP.</li><li>But don't expect Biden and Senate Democrats to try to pack the Supreme Court by adding more judges to the bench. There's just not enough support in their caucus for that.</li></ul><h2>Criminal justice reform</h2><ul><li>Major criminal justice reform legislation is more likely with Democrats in control of the Senate.</li><li>Congressional Democrats have pushed major changes, including bans on no-knock warrants and chokeholds after several incidences people dying in police custody.</li><li>They also want to limit protections that shield police officers accused of misconduct from prosecution.</li></ul><h2>Drug prices</h2><ul><li>It'll be hard for Democrats to follow through on a promise <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/details-of-house-democrats-bill-to-build-on-aca-obamacare-2020-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to let Medicare regulate drug prices</a>, given the fierce industry opposition.</li><li>Medicare is prohibited by law from regulating drug prices, and the US pays more for medicines than any other developed country.</li><li>In the new Congress, a Democrat majority is more likely to try to get Medicare to negotiate the prices of a specific type of medicine or a limited number of drugs.</li></ul><h2>Gun control</h2><ul><li>Biden and most Democrats have in recent years wanted to enact major gun restrictions after several mass shootings across the country.</li><li>Sweeping gun-control legislation is likely off the table, even with the slim Democratic majority.</li><li>Scaled-back action, such as a bipartisan effort to expand background checks for gun buyers, could pass with Democrats in control.</li></ul><h2>Healthcare</h2><ul><li>A Democratic majority will almost certainly allocate more funding for the Affordable Care Act. Democrats are united behind expanding the healthcare law through subsidizing private health-insurance plans and having more states expand Medicaid to low-income people.</li><li>But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-public-option-healthcare-affordable-care-act-obamacare-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it will be a reach</a>, even with the Democratic Senate, for Biden to follow through with his pledge to allow more people to buy into a program like Medicare.</li><li>Expect the Biden administration to change as much as it can through rulemaking and executive orders.</li></ul><h2>Immigration</h2><ul><li>Washington policy experts don't have much hope for a major immigration compromise. </li><li>The issue became even more polarizing under Trump, who prioritized a crackdown on immigration and pressed for increased spending to build a wall at the US-Mexico border.</li><li>Biden and his administration are expected to reverse some of Trump's executive orders on immigration, but expect them to do so without Congress.</li><li>Biden may however push Congress to address the status of immigrants brought to the US as children.</li></ul><h2>Infrastructure</h2><ul><li>Biden has pitched a $2 trillion infrastructure-spending plan that will be tough for even a Democratic-led Congress to agree on.</li><li>But his party is more likely to get behind increased federal spending to repair crumbling roads and bridges when they control both branches of Congress.</li><li>Democrats also hope to use infrastructure legislation to boost spending on clean energy and tackle climate change by setting more money aside for resilience.</li></ul><h2>Oversight</h2><ul><li>Oversight is one area that will look very different under Democratic control of the Senate. </li><li>Democrats could use their authority as committee chairs to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-truth-commission-investigation-biden-democrats-republicans-coronavirus-ethics-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expand investigations</a> into the past four years of the Trump administration, even if the Biden administration is reluctant to do so.</li><li>They could also find themselves playing defense against Senate Republicans who want to launch investigations into Biden and his son Hunter Biden.</li><li>Senate Republicans would almost certainly have used their gavels and subpoena power to investigate Hunter Biden's business dealings. That ain't happening now.</li></ul><h2>Paid leave</h2><ul><li>The US stands in contrast to other industrialized nations that have set a mandatory or subsidized leave policy.</li><li>Under the 1993 Family Medical Leave Act, employers with 50 workers or more must allow 12 weeks of leave every year for people to recover from an illness, care for a new child, or help an ill family member. In most cases, however, the leave isn't paid.</li><li>Democrats support increasing the payroll tax to fund paid sick leave and parental leave and could try to pass a bill to do so.</li></ul><h2>Stimulus</h2><ul><li>Democrats want to pass a multitrillion-dollar coronavirus relief measure to prop up the economy and struggling workers.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-georgia-senate-runoff-2000-stimulus-checks-immediately-2021-1">Biden told Georgia voters</a> ahead of the runoffs that $2,000 stimulus checks would be sent out to Americans right away if the state voted for the Democratic candidates Warnock and Ossoff. </li></ul><h2>Taxes</h2><ul><li>Ambitious plans to increase taxes on the richlike those championed by Sanders and Elizabeth Warrenface long odds this year even with Democrats in charge. </li><li>Biden's plan involves raising taxes on wealthy people and corporations.</li><li>That will be politically difficult without a bigger Democratic majority and at a time when businesses are suffering because of the pandemic.</li></ul><h2>Technology</h2><ul><li>Senate Democrats have advocated stricter data-privacy legislation to bolster consumers' rights and rein in big tech.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/17/opinion/joe-biden-nytimes-interview.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden has also signaled</a> that he wants to crack down on the spread of disinformation on social media.</li><li>Democrats might be able to win over enough of their Senate GOP colleagues to enact significant tech reform legislation.</li></ul><h2>Voting rights</h2><ul><li>Pelosi has signaled to Democrats that voting rights legislation will be one of her top priorities. </li><li>Democrats in the House and Senate have championed new laws that would ease access to the polls, but McConnell <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/06/mcconnell-election-reform-bill-1207702">wouldn't allow a Senate vote</a> on Democrats' voting reform legislation. </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/democrat-majority-policy-priorities-senate-house-biden-warnock-ossoff-georgia-2021-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-gucci-clothes-racist-blackface-sambo-2019-2">Why these Gucci clothes are racist</a></p>
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