On Tuesday, February 7, President Biden delivered his annual State of the Union address in the House chambers. Between the moment when the invitation from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy arrived at the White House and the speech itself, there were many questions about what message the President would have to deliver to the American people and to Congress. However, as the night of the address grew closer, there was growing confidence that the message would be one of optimism and progress.
Before getting to the speech itself, there are some important details that you should know. First, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh was chosen to act as the designated survivor for this year’s State of the Union. Secondly, President Biden’s speech went on for one hour, 12 minutes, and 40 seconds. This makes it the seventh-longest speech in American history, with Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump being the only two Presidents to give longer speeches. But what was in President Biden’s speech?
The president began his address by handing out congratulations to several major leaders: Kevin McCarthy for becoming speaker of the House, Hakeem Jeffries for becoming the first black leader of a major party, and Mitch McConnell for becoming the longest-serving Senate leader.
From there he jumped right in, talking about the progress that has been made for the country over the last two years. He highlighted the bipartisan nature of this progress, stating that he had signed 300 pieces of bipartisan legislation since taking office. However, he said that there is still much to do, a message that he returned to several times throughout the night.
President Biden said that it was time to open the next chapter in American history, and to make it one of “strength and resilience.”
The president said that he truly believes that this can happen and that the backbone of the country can be restored. To describe his view of the nation, he said, “If I had to use one word to describe us it would be possibilities.”
From there, President Biden moved into the importance of bringing jobs and infrastructure back to the United States. He said that over time, the United States has lost its sense of “self-pride”, and that it was time for that to end. He highlighted the changes already being seen throughout the country: the reduction in inflation for things like food, gas, and other things. He also noted the large increase in small businesses that have been started within the last year, saying that it is a near-record number.
The president then spoke about the importance of things like the manufacturing of semiconductor chips here in the US, saying that the nation cannot afford to see the shortage that it did in recent times. It was here that the President turned to the Chips and Science Act, and the important role it will play not only in restoring the chip supply in the US but also the role it will play in creating good manufacturing jobs here in the country. He also pledged that the supply chain in the US would become more American than ever before.
In terms of manufacturing jobs, the president stated that 800,000 manufacturing jobs had been created even before the Chips and Science Act kicked in. With that, he promised the creation of more manufacturing jobs, hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs, and stated that companies in this area have pledged $300 billion over the next few years to make this happen. Not only would there be more jobs, but the President stated that these new positions could pay as much as $130,000 a year and many would not require a degree.
Next, the President addressed the efforts going into American infrastructure, first noting that the country has sunk to 13th in the world when it comes to infrastructure. He mentioned many of the efforts that would be starting in the near future thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law. He noted the work that would be going into the country’s roads, bridges, airports, waterways, and more. He talked about the spread of high-speed internet all throughout the country, and the replacement of lead pipes that run to 4 million homes across the nation, as well as many schools and daycare centers.
This is where the President announced his first plan moving forward. He pledged that America would be buying America for these infrastructure projects, saying that all new construction materials used in infrastructure projects would be made and bought right here in the country. He also ensured that this new pledge could definitely be carried out while abiding by international trade regulations. This would include lumber, glass, drywall, fiber optic cable, and more. In doing this, coupled with the effort going into creating manufacturing jobs, president Biden is hoping that the country can invest in the people who may feel forgotten or those who have sat in the background for far too long. On the matter, the President said, “That’s why we’re building an economy where no one gets left behind. we’re coming back.”
Next, President Biden moved into the progress made in the healthcare sector, noting the many ways that Congress has tried to help Americans save money wherever possible. The president noted the improvements made to Medicare in its ability to save seniors much more money than before. One of the biggest ways of doing this was by cutting down the amount of money seniors must pay per year for their medications, with a cap being set at $2,000. He noted the drop in spending that people would have to endure thanks to this cap, bringing costs down from thousands of dollars, to as little as $15. President Biden also mentioned the ability of Medicare to now negotiate drug prices. He ensured that this new capability would allow Medicare to save seniors a lot more money than before. Beyond that, he ensured that it would cut the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars.
President Biden also spoke of the new cap on insulin prices. He stated that overall, the United States pays more for prescriptions than any other country in the world, and insulin is a prime example of that. He mentioned the disparity between the low cost for companies to produce insulin and the price at which they sell it. At the same time that companies can produce it for $10, they are selling it for hundreds. However, the cap that recently went into effect sets the price of insulin for seniors at $35. That being said, the President said there is still more to do. He proposed putting a cap on insulin prices for everyone in the country, noting the hundreds of thousands of young Americans that suffer due to type 1 Diabetes. It was here that the President also warned against any attempt from those that wish to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, the law that put all of these changes into effect. He promised to veto any attempt to repeal it.
The President took some time to mention the impact that the Inflation Reduction Act will have in the fight against climate change. He noted that 500,000 electric car charging stations would be built across the country and that there would be more tax credits going into place to help people buy the new electric vehicles. President Biden noted that the country will still need gas and oil for a while, but that progress needs to be made to lessen the nation’s reliance on that type of fuel.
And on the topic of taxes, the President noted the effort to ensure that wealthy Americans and corporations pay their fair share in taxes. “I’m a capitalist, but pay your fair share,” Biden stated on the matter.
He then noted the $40 billion in profits made by the 55 wealthiest corporations in the nation, and how they didn’t pay a cent in taxes the year before. To stop this from happening, the President noted the new 15% minimum corporate tax that all companies will have to pay from now on. He also reiterated a point he has made many times before that anyone in the nation making less than $400,000 would not pay an extra cent in taxes.
Soon after this, the President slid into the topic of the immediate economy, and the dangers of messing with the debt ceiling. It was here that he mentioned the idea passed around by some Republicans to cut Social Security and Medicare in a deal to raise the debt ceiling once again. It was then that the chambers became loud with boos from many Republican members, and several others shouting retorts back at the President for these remarks. After a small back-and-forth exchange, the President asked Congress as a whole, “Cutting social security and medicare is off the books right,” which was followed by a standing ovation from the entire crowd. Biden also promised to veto any attempt to cut these programs.
From here, the President talked about several different efforts and proposals circulating right now. He called for Congress to pass the bipartisan antitrust legislation that would also protect consumers from being taken advantage of by big-time online businesses. He spoke of the efforts to eliminate hidden airline fees, the reduction of credit card late fees from $30 to $8, and the elimination of service fees on tickets for concerts and other events. He talked about banning surprise resort fees, some of which can increase hotel stays by as much as $90 a night. He also promised that they would stop the splitting up of families on planes and that children would no longer be treated like baggage.
The president talked about strengthening the freedoms and rights of employees, promising to ban non-compete agreements. He also promised that there would be efforts to allow employees to come together and unionize more freely.
He had proposals surrounding the children in the country. He first proposed the return of the full child tax credit. He also called for better childcare coverage, so that parents can still go to work and know that their children will be taken care of without having to spend a fortune. He also called for preschool to be offered to all children ages 3 and 4. He called for public school teachers to receive a raise. Finally, he asked for every student coming out of school to be given a pathway to a good college education, whether or not they actually decided to go to college in the end.
The President also briefly touched on COVID-19, saying that it was no longer a state of emergency, but to remember that it is not yet gone. He asked that the more than one million who died from Covid be remembered. He stated that there were still dozens of variants that need to be monitored, and that updated vaccines still need to be approved. He wants Congress to fund these efforts.
One of President Biden’s greatest areas of focus during his address was police reform. He spoke of the tragedy of the Tyre Nichols case. He outlined the struggle that far too many go through in dealing with police violence, especially noting those of color. He called on Congress to act and to pass police reform of some kind. He said that everyone in this country deserves to get home safely, especially the children. He noted that they all want the same thing: the safety of the nation’s neighborhoods and the safety of the streets. “Equal protection under the law is a covenant we have with each other in America,” said Biden on the matter.
He called for officers to receive more training on how to handle these types of situations and noted that the country needs more first responders to help in things like social and mental health matters. The President noted the effort he himself was making to make a change, mentioning the executive order he signed banning all chokeholds for federal officers. His final ask to Congress on this matter was to just “do something.”
President Biden also briefly touched on abortion rights, asking Congress to pass legislation that would restore the rights given in Roe V. Wade. He also promised that he would veto any attempt to pass a national abortion ban.
The President then returned to ways that he hopes to protect children moving forward. He spoke of the thousands that are currently dying every year because of Fentanyl overdoses. He called for harsher penalties for those that dare try to distribute or manufacture the drug here in the United States. He wants heavier fines, longer jail sentences, and more. He called on Congress to find ways to protect the nation’s children on social media and to stop targeted advertising towards children. He also wants to find ways to further protect the mental health of children, and ensure that they have the services they need at school to stay safe.
Biden touched on the need to further support veterans in the United States. He mentioned the 17 veterans being lost every day because of suicide and asked for ways to help pick up the veterans of this country to help them thrive once they have left the military.
President Biden’s last major point of focus in his State of the Union Address was his goal to cut down the death rate from cancer in the United States. He said that his dream is to cut the death rate by 50% in the next 20 years, and believes that it can truly be done. He asked for this effort to become a “truly American thing.”
To end his address, President Biden spoke of his hope for the future of America, that the next few moves and the next few years could determine the future of the nation. As for the state of the nation, President Biden said, “Because the soul of this nation is strong because the backbone of this nation is strong because the people of this nation are strong, the state of the union is strong.”
There were several points throughout the President’s speech where things became increasingly rowdy. Republicans on several occasions threw retorts back at the President for his words. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the president a liar when he stated that there were some that wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare. Others shouted that Biden was to blame for those dying from Fentanyl overdoses throughout the nation, an opinion that stems from Republicans’ view that the president has done a very poor job when it comes to border security. What’s more is that Speaker McCarthy can be seen several times quieting the members of his own party.
The rebuttal from the Republican party was given by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the newly sworn-in Governor of Arkansas. She is also the youngest serving Governor in the country. Her speech lasted 14 minutes, and 16 seconds.
She began her speech by highlighting her lack of faith and belief in most of what President Biden had said in his address. She spent a large portion of her speech trying to highlight differences in the thinking between herself and Biden, as well as the two parties altogether.
She mentioned that she is the youngest Governor and that Biden is the oldest President. She also stated that she stands for freedom, while Biden stands for more government control. This point was one that she tried especially hard to drive home throughout the duration of her speech. She wanted people to know that the Republican party would fight for the people, while the Democratic party would stand only for more government control and their “woke fantasies.”
She spoke of the issue at the country’s southern border, mentioning the increasing Fentanyl issue across the nation. She also blames the president for the increasing number of children dying from this Fentanyl and accuses him of not defending the people of the United States.
The Arkansas Governor talked about her attempts to strengthen her state’s education system, detailing the executive orders she signed in an attempt to stop “CRT, racism, and the indoctrination of children in schools.”
She also declared that she would be unveiling the boldest, most far-reaching, and most conservative education package to give children the best education possible.
She told the people that the Republican party would stand for them and that the people could stand with them. She promised that the Republican party would stand for “what is right”: for better communities, where the streets are safe and paychecks are rising. Her final promise was to hold the Biden administration accountable.
