- Biden’s first State of the Union address starts at 9 p.m. ET.
President Joe Biden fulfills a constitutional request when he delivers a State of the Union address – his first – to Congress on Tuesday.
The president kicked off his speech strongly condemning Russia for its “unprovoked” invasion of Ukraine, including closing off U.S. airspace to Russia planes.
And he hailed a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, urging Americans to see the virus, and not each other, as the enemy.
Once President Joe Biden leaves the podium after giving his first State of the Union Tuesday, at least two political leaders will deliver separate responses to the address: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for the Republican Party and Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Here’s what else you need to know, along with some history on the speech.
Live updates:Russia’s 40-mile convoy appears to have bogged down en route to Kyiv; shells pound Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
Biden’s report on the State of the Union: Strong
The president struck an optimistic tone in his concluding remarks, praising American values and calling the moment a “test of resolve and conscience, of history itself.”
“It is in this moment that our character is formed. Our purpose is found. Our future is forged,” he said. “We will meet this test.”
Biden acknowledged while the country has faced a challenging period, he is “more optimistic about America today than I have been my whole life.”
The president waited until the end of his speech, which lasted more than an hour, to deliver his report on the state of the union: “strong.”
“Because you, the American people, are strong,” he said as the crowd erupted in cheers. “We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today.”
— Courtney Subramanian
Biden says Americans can order more COVID tests from the government starting next week
Americans will be able to order more free coronavirus tests from the government starting next week, President Joe Biden announced during Tuesday’s State of the Union address.
“Even if you already ordered free tests, tonight, I am announcing that you can order more from covidtests.gov starting next week,” Biden said, adding the government has made hundreds of millions of tests available for free.
Americans were able to start ordering the free tests from the Covidtests.gov website on Jan. 18.
— Kelly Tyko
Read the rest here:Biden says Americans can order more COVID tests from the government starting next week
Biden vows to address soldiers’ exposure to ‘burn pits’
Biden announced that his administration is expanding eligibility to veterans suffering from respiratory cancers and promised to examine the issue of troops’ exposure to “burn pits.”
Burn pits are used to incinerate jet fuel, medical materials and other wastes of war. Many soldiers who breathe smoke from them develop headaches, numbness, dizziness and even cancer, Biden said.
“I know,” he said. “One of those soldiers was my son Major Beau Biden.”
Beau Biden died in 2015 of brain cancer at age 46.
“We don’t know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer or the diseases of so many of our troops,” Biden said. “But I’m committed to finding out everything we can.”
-– Michael Collins
Biden: ‘Let’s end cancer as we know it’
Biden highlighted his announcement last month to relaunch the Cancer Moonshot, an issue close to the president’s heart after his son, Beau, died of brain cancer.
“Let’s end cancer as we know it,” he said.
Biden noted that the fight to end cancer is personal for him and First Lady Jill Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother died of colon cancer.
“So many of you lost someone you love: Husband wife, son, daughter, mom, dad,” Biden added.
— Rebecca Morin
Lawmakers react in the chamber following speech
Following the speech, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., walked towards the front of the chamber to take a photo of Vice President Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Most powerful ladies in the world,” Gillibrand shouted as she took the picture.
Biden was swarmed by lawmakers as he exited the chamber. Rep. Adam Schiff shook his hand, and Biden placed his hand on Schiff’s shoulder. Others took selfies and photos with the president in the background as he spoke to members on his way to the exit.
— Dylan Wells
Biden slams social media for effects on children
Biden connected young people’s mental health to social media platforms, saying they must be held accountable for what he called a “national experiment” being conducted on children for profit.
Under the American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration funneled millions into schools to hire teachers and help students make up for lost learning during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Children were also struggling before the pandemic,” he said “Bullying, violence, trauma, and the harms of social media.”
“It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children,” he said.
Proposals mentioned by the president include strengthening privacy protections, banning targeted advertising to children and stopping the collection of personal data on children.
Biden also acknowledged Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen in the chamber and thanked her for her courage.
— Phillip M. Bailey, Chelsey Cox
More:Did Facebook ignore warnings that Instagram is unhealthy for kids? States are investigating
Biden: We can secure the border and fix the immigration system
Biden renewed calls for immigration reform while also bolstering security at the U.S. southern border, remarks that drew chants of “build the wall,” from Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.
“And if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the border and fix the immigration system,” Biden said. “We can do both.”
The president said the U.S. implemented new technology to better detect drug smuggling, set up joint patrols with Mexico and Guatemala to catch human traffickers and is supporting partners in South and Central America to host more refugees and secure their own borders.
Biden also called for obtaining legal status for so-called Dreamers, or undocumented immigrations who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, as well as those who have temporary status, farm workers and essential workers.
“It’s not only the right thing to do—it’s the economically smart thing to do,” he added.
— Courtney Subramnaian
More:President Biden says ‘no more’ to Russian corruption, oligarchs
Biden calls for ‘proven measures’ to reduce gun violence
Biden vowed to cut down on gun trafficking and called on Congress to pass what he called “proven measures” to reduce gun violence.
Specifically, he urged lawmakers to pass universal background checks, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and repeal liability shield that mean gun makers can’t be sued.
“These laws don’t infringe on the Second Amendment,” he said. “They save lives.”
–- Michael Collins
Biden: Nominee Jackson a ‘consensus builder’
Between the crisis in Ukraine, soaring inflation and a stalled domestic agenda, Biden doesn’t have a lot of good news to tout at his State of the Union address this year.
One exception: His recently announced historic nominee to the Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Biden called Jackson “one of our nation’s top legal minds” and a “consensus builder.” Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
The president tried to signal bipartisan support for Jackson as she begins meeting with senators ahead of a confirmation hearing this spring.
“Since she’s been nominated, she’s received a broad range of support — from the Fraternal Order of Police to former judges appointed by Democrats and Republicans,” Biden said.
Senate Democrats hope to confirm Jackson to the high court by early April.
— John Fritze
Biden: Right to vote ‘under assault’
Biden called on Congress to pass voting rights legislation, saying that the right to vote is “under assault.”
“The most fundamental right in America is the right to vote – and to have it counted,” Biden said. “And it’s under assault.”
He added that he would like to see Congress pass the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Act.
— Rebecca Morin
American Rescue Plan essential to keep neighborhoods safe, Biden says
President Biden touted his American Rescue Plan as an asset to community safety.
The plan, which was approved by Democrats in Congress last March, provides $350 billion in direct aid to cities, states and counties that can be used to hire more police and invest in proven strategies like community violence interruption.
“We should all agree, the answer is not to defund the police, it’s to fund the police,” Biden said to cheers and applause.
— Chelsey Cox
More:President Joe Biden’s COVID stimulus bill explained in 6 charts
COVID-19 reset
Biden reflected on how COVID-19 has challenged the country since 2020, but that with roughly three-fourths of Americans fully vaccinated, and hospitalizations down by 77%, “most Americans can removed their masks, return to work, stay in the classroom and move forward safely.”
The president touched on how that has been the result of free vaccines, treatments, tests and masks. But Biden noted how this is a pivotal moment for Americans to stay focused in the face of the contagion’s possible resurgence.
“Let’s use this moment to reset,” he said. “Let’s stop looking at COVID-19 as a partisan dividing line and see it for what it is: A God-awful disease.”
Biden noted how many lives have been lost, and that Americans cannot let the contagion divide them further.
“We can’t change how divided we’ve been,” he said. “But we can change how we move forward—on COVID-19 and other issues we must face together.”
— Phillip M. Bailey
More:Tracking COVID-19…
Read More:Biden aims to reset presidency
2022-03-02 02:59:31
