President Joe Biden sought to reboot his domestic agenda on Tuesday night during his State of the Union address by calling on Congress to pass legislation that will lower costs for the American people, vowing that ‘my top priority is getting prices under control.’
‘So many families are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas, housing, and so much more,’ the president said in his remarks. ‘Inflation is robbing them of the gains they might otherwise feel. I get it. That’s why my top priority is getting prices under control.’
Americans have seen record high prices of gas and groceries as the pandemic comes to a close, with inflation hitting 7.5% in January.
Many of Biden’s ideas for domestic policy mirror his signature Build Back Better legislation, his approximately $2 trillion social services bill. The bill, however, is stalled in the Senate and all but dead after Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin declined to support it, citing concerns about its costs.
But Biden argued his plan will ‘lower your costs, not your wages.’ He urged Congress to pass incentives to help combat climate change, to cut the cost of prescription drugs, cut the cost of childcare, offer more affordable housing, and have Pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old.
‘I call it building a better America,’ Biden said to great applause.
The president outlined his vision for the nation as his poll numbers have tanked, Americans are suffering from covid fatigue and the cost of food and gas has increased dramatically. Democrats are worried that voters’ frustration will translate into a loss of the House and Senate this November.
‘My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit,’ Biden said.
Biden tried to put a positive spin on his handling of the economy, pointing out his successfully passed American Rescue Plan and bipartisan infrastructure law, that 6.5 million jobs have been created during his presidency, and the strong growth of the economy.
He also put the blame on Republicans – and perhaps too a hit at Donald Trump’s tax cut – saying trickle-down economics didn’t work.
‘For the past 40 years we were told that if we gave tax breaks to those at the very top, the benefits would trickle down to everyone else,’ Biden said. ‘But that trickle-down theory led to weaker economic growth, lower wages, bigger deficits, and the widest gap between those at the top and everyone else in nearly a century.’
President Biden said in his State of the Union address that ‘my top priority is getting prices under control’
President Biden prepares to address the nation
Lawmakers crowd the aisles of the House chamber to shake hands with Biden
Biden argued the infrastructure bill will provide jobs to ‘millions of Americans.’
‘It is going to transform America and put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st Century that we face with the rest of the world—particularly with China,’ Biden said, mentioning the United States’ trade rival.
‘We’ll create good jobs for millions of Americans, modernizing roads, airports, ports, and waterways all across America,’ he said.
He vowed his administration will start fixing over 65,000 miles of highway and 1,500 bridges in disrepair this year alone.
Biden also outlined other initiatives: buying American, increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $2,000, raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, and create a national paid family-leave program.
Biden’s approval rating has hit one of the lowest point of his presidency and its voters disappoinment with his handling of the economy that is driving those numbers.
Only 37% saying they approve of the job Biden is doing as president, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday with 55% disapproving.
And 54% say the economy is worse off under Biden while 36% say that they are personally in worse off.
Meanwhile 36% of voters told a CBS News poll that things in American are going ‘very badly’ and only 27% said things were going ‘somewhat well.’ And 63% described the economy as ‘bad.’
Americans have been facing rising prices in the grocery store and at the gas pump as the economy struggles to recover from the covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine has raised energy prices.
Inflation hit a record 7.5% in January, rising for the six straight month. It has not been that high since 1980.
Inflation hit a 40-year high of 7.5 percent, the Labor Department announced, a figure not seen since the Reagan administration
Biden is expected to confront inflation head-on in his Tuesday evening speech, claiming to have ‘a better plan to fight inflation’
Prices at the pump shot up 40 percent in January. The financial strain was compounded in recent weeks when Russia, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers, invaded Ukraine
Prices at the gas pump raised 40% last month after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. Russia is the second-largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia, and is the largest producer of natural gas in the world.
In response to the ballooning prices, the United States and its 30 fellow International Energy Agency members agreed on Tuesday to release 60 million barrels from their oil reserves.
The president originally intended to focus his speech on his legislative agenda, economic plans and the covid pandemic in his remarks but Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine caused a pivot.
But the situation in the Ukraine forced a pivot.
