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President Joe Biden will tout his economic plan when he speaks to the nation on Tuesday night, according to excerpts released by the White House, and he will call on Republicans to work with him, saying voters don’t want ‘fighting for the sake of fighting.’
‘To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress,’ he will say in his State of the Union Address.
‘The people sent us a clear message, fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere. And that’s always been my vision for the country: to restore the soul of the nation, to rebuild the backbone of America: the middle class, to unite the country. We’ve been sent here to finish the job!
In his remarks, Biden will focus on values as he contrasts his stance on taxing the rich and reforming policing with Republicans’ approach in a speech that will be watched for hints of his re-election message.
President Joe Biden will tout his economic plan in State of the Union address
And part of that message will be the president touting his economic record, where he will emphasize the 12 million jobs created during his administration.
‘Amid the economic upheaval of the past four decades too many people have been left behind or treated like they’re invisible,’ he will say.
‘Jobs are coming back, pride is coming back because of the choices we made in the last two years. This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and make a real difference in your lives.’
He will tout the progress made since the COVID pandemic.
‘Two years ago our economy was reeling. As I stand here tonight, we have created a record 12 million new jobs – more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years. Two years ago, COVID had shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much. Today, COVID no longer controls our lives. And two years ago, our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken,’ he will say.
The United States is experiencing record low unemployment and rising wages, and the fears of a recession are diminishing.
Television crews set up inside Statuary Hall in the Capitol to capture lawmaker reaction after Biden’s speech
But, lingering in the backdrop of Biden’s remarks is the fight to raise the debt limit. Republicans want to slash federal spending in exchange for increasing the nation’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit. Biden wants it raised with no conditions attached.
The battle is shaping up to be his first major policy fight with Republicans since they took control of the House. The two sides have until the end of June to come to an agreement.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve has been slowly raising interest rates to try and slow down rising inflation. The consumer price index dipped from a nearly 9% annual rate in June to under 6.5% as of December.
Gasoline prices that hit $5 a gallon over the summer were below $3.50 this week.
The president’s approval rating is hovering at around 40% as he goes into Tuesday night.
Seated behind him, for the first time, will be Kevin McCarthy in his role as speaker. Biden’s new bete noir will gavel the chamber into order and introduce the president.
GOP leaders issued a blunt warning to their lawmakers on Tuesday to behave themselves while the president speaks, reminding them that cameras and microphones will be on during the entire event.
The U.S. Capitol is seen through security fencing erected before President Joe Biden addresses a joint session of Congress during the annual State of the Union address
Workers move extra chairs into the House Chamber for the speech
President Joe Biden discusses his State of the Union address with his adviser Anita Dunn over the weekend at Camp David
The president’s address will be composed of two contrasting elements: his ‘unity agenda’ that the administration hopes will attract bipartisan support. It focuses on issues they feel like they can work with Republicans on: tackling the illegal drug problem; ending smoking; helping veterans and cancer patients; and providing more access to mental health care.
But Biden will also push ideas that show how he and Republicans differ. He’ll call on Congress to raise taxes on the wealthy, give more federal aid to those in need and guarantee protections to Social Security and Medicare.
He will call again for a ‘billionaire minimum tax.’ In the past, Biden has proposed a 20% levy on households with a net worth of more than $100 million.
Lawmakers will be split before Biden when he speaks – Republicans to his left and Democrats on his right. Members of the Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs and the diplomatic corps will attend the speech.
Meanwhile Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene brought a white balloon around the halls of Congress amid criticism of Biden over his handling of China’s spy balloon
Earlier Tuesday, McCarthy warned his GOP conference members to behave, making it clear he wanted no shenanigans on the House floor.
The lawmakers were reminded that boom mics will be on so ‘peoples conversations will be picked up, and anything you’re reading on your phone’ could been seen by a camera lens, a GOP lawmaker said.
The speaker also promised to behave himself and not cause any ‘theatrics,’ specifically saying he won’t do as Nancy Pelosi did during Donald Trump’s final State of the Union address and tear up the text of the speech.
‘I don’t believe in the theatrics of tearing up speeches,’ he said in a video posted to his Twitter account. ‘I respect the other side.’
Last year, Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado repeatedly interrupted and heckled Biden during his remarks.
On Tuesday Greene was spotted walking the halls of Congress with a white balloon a as Republicans slam Biden’s handling of a suspected Chinese ‘spy balloon’ that flew over several U.S. states before being finally shot down on Saturday.
Hints of what Biden will talk about in his speech can be found in the guest list for Jill Biden’s box during the event.
Her guests include Bono; Paul Pelosi, a Texas woman who nearly died due to the state’s strict abortion law; the man who helped stop the Monterey Park Lunar shooter; and the mother of Tyre Nichols, a black man who died after being beaten by police in Memphis.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy warned his Republican lawmakers to behave during Biden’s speech
Biden is expected to talk about reforming policing in the wake of so many public beatings. He is under heavy pressure from his own Democrats to make some kind of policy move.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are bringing more than a dozen families to the speech that have been affected by police violence.
‘He’s going to talk about all of the values. I think you’re going to see a strong president that tells you in his own way that he’s done more than previous presidents,’ Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty said Tuesday morning after House Democrats were given a preview of Biden’s remarks.
Beatty and other CBC members have pushed Biden to do more on the police brutality issue. She said she thinks the president will call for the passing of the George Floyd Police Act – which he has done in the past – and more.
And the president will discuss items he didn’t get to in his Build Back Better Agenda, including childcare and housing casts, the lawmakers said after their meeting with White House adviser Anita Dunn, who gave them a slide show presentation on the president’s remarks.
When asked if the president’s address may sound like a campaign speech, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said: ‘I think it may be.’
She said the speech will be a ‘contrast with Republicans’ particularly on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Speaker McCarthy said he won’t tear up the text of Biden’s speech as then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi did at the-President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in 2020 (above)
Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado (left) and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia (right) heckled Biden during his 2022 State of the Union Address
Biden hasn’t announced he will seek another term – but said he intends to. He’s expected to make a formal announcement in the coming weeks. And his State of the Union address will be seen as an argument for why he should get four more years in the White House.
His ‘unity agenda’ will focus on items that everyday Americans can relate to. And what he will use to push his message of bipartianship, focusing on preventing drug overdoses, helping veterans, aiding those with cancer, and cutting smoking rates.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the president would outline a ‘forceful approach’ for going after fentanyl as overdose deaths continue to rise in the United States.
According to the CDC, 107,375 people in the United States died of drug overdoses and drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending in January 2022.
Biden also will ask Congress to reauthorize the National Cancer Act, which was enacted more than a half century ago, to help update U.S. cancer research and care systems.
Cancer is a personal cause to the Bidens, who lost their son Beau to brain cancer in 2015.
Their Cancer Moonshot program recently celebrated its one-year anniversary after the Bidens restarted it last year. It was originally formed when Joe Biden was vice president.
The president will address suicide among veterans and push to cut adult and youth smoking rates as part of his initiative to cut cancer deaths by 50% in the next 25 years.
Danielle Carnival, the Cancer Moonshot Coordinator, said the administration will ‘focus on helping individuals avoid smoking in the first place and supporting Americans who want to quit.’
Jill Biden’s guests include cancer survivors, military veterans, and parents who lost their son to overdose.
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