In an address to Congress, Biden calls for political unity to help working Americans.

Feb. 7 (UPI) — President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address Tuesday night at the US Capitol, where he called for political unity to “get the job done” as he called on a divided Congress to ban assault weapons. implement immigration reform, protect the right to abortion, and help rebuild the middle class.

Entering the chamber of the House of Representatives to a standing ovation and applause from both Republicans and Democrats, Biden began his 80-minute speech, welcoming lawmakers and guests, including new Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffreys.

“Today, I begin by congratulating the members of the 118th Congress and the new Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy,” Biden said. “Mr Speaker, I look forward to working together.”

Biden then continued to tout his economic achievements over the past two years, despite acknowledging record inflation.

“Here at home, gas prices have dropped $1.50 a gallon since their peak. Food inflation is declining. Inflation has been declining every month for the past six months while wages at home have been rising,” Biden said.

“Today, as I stand here, we have created a record 12 million new jobs, more jobs have been created in two years than any president has ever created in four years,” Biden said, also reminding his audience of his administration’s efforts. post-COVID recovery. -19 pandemic.

“Two years ago COVID closed our businesses, closed our schools and took so much from us. Today, COVID no longer controls our lives,” the president said. “Today, despite the bruises, our democracy remains steadfast and unbroken.”

Despite his administration’s past successes, Biden said it now takes “unity” between the country’s two major political parties to “get the job done” — a phrase he repeated throughout his speech — to make life easier for working Americans when needed. . concerns the economy, health, education and public safety.

“Restore the soul of the nation. Rebuild the backbone of America, the middle class. Unite the country. We were sent here to finish the job,” Biden said.

“To build an economy from the bottom up and from the middle up, not from the top down. Because when the middle class is doing well, the poor have a ladder up and the rich are still doing very well,” Biden said. “We are fine”.

“You know, we’re often told that Democrats and Republicans can’t work together,” Biden said. “To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there’s no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress.”

Biden also stressed the importance of worldwide cooperation as NATO and global allies oppose Putin’s aggression and support the Ukrainian people.

“Our nation is striving for more freedom, more dignity and more peace, not just in Europe but everywhere,” Biden said, also vowing to stand up to Beijing after a recent dispute over the discovery of a Chinese observation balloon floating over the United States.

The incident has complicated diplomatic relations between the world’s two biggest superpowers, whose relationship has been strained over accusations of the origin of the pandemic and Beijing’s growing incursions into Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea.

The incident forced US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to cancel a planned visit to Beijing on Friday, while many Republicans in Washington criticized Biden for not taking stronger action against the spy ship, which defied US airspace restrictions and international law.

“I am ready to work with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world,” Biden said. “But make no mistake, as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did it,” the president said to loud cheers from the chamber.

However, that unity in applause faded as soon as Biden accused the Republican Party of wanting to “shut down” Social Security and Medicare.

“Instead of making the rich pay their fair share, some Republicans – some Republicans – want Social Security and Medicare to shut down. I’m not saying it’s the majority,” Biden said.

The president’s remarks were met with a cheer from Republicans in the room as McCarthy shook his head and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, D-GA, stood up and yelled, “Liar!”

Biden urged Republicans to fix “our current tax system,” which he called “simply unfair.”

“According to my plan, no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a single penny of additional taxes,” Biden promised. “Let’s finish the job. Reward work, not just wealth. Accept my proposal for a minimum tax for billionaires.

“Because no billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a schoolteacher or firefighter,” Biden said, calling on Congress to increase the salary allowance for public school teachers.

In addition to economics and political unity, Biden spoke about health care and advancing his four-part unity for families agenda, which was unveiled during last year’s State of the Union address. The politics of the agenda are focused on cancer research, support for veterans, mental health resources, and tackling the opioid epidemic.

“Fentanyl kills over 70,000 Americans a year,” Biden said. “Let’s take action to stop the manufacture, sale and trafficking of fentanyl by installing more drug detection machines to inspect shipments and stop pills and powders at the border.”

The border was also raised by Biden when discussing America’s immigration issues.

“But America’s border issues will not be resolved until Congress takes action,” Biden said.

“We now have a record number of officers working to secure the border, arresting 8,000 smugglers and seizing more than 23,000 pounds of fentanyl,” he said. “Since we launched our new border plan last month, illegal migration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela has dropped by 97%.

First Lady Jill Biden has been invited. several guests to Tuesday’s speech, most notably Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, whose appearance was meant to show the unwavering support of the United States for Ukraine after almost a year of war. The speech came almost two weeks after the president ordered 31 US Abrams tanks to be sent to Ukraine, along with units, to defend it from Russia.

Also in attendance were Rowan and Rodney Wells, parents of 29-year-old Tyra Nichols, a black man who died last month after being beaten by a group of Memphis cops during a traffic stop.

“Tonight we are joined by the parents of Tyre Nichols, who had to bury him just last week. There are no words to describe the grief and grief of losing a child,” Biden said.

“But imagine what it’s like to lose a child at the hands of the law,” Biden added, calling for police reform, specifically the George Floyd Police Justice Act, which has been languishing in the Senate since 2021 due to Republican opposition.

Additional guests included Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was the victim of a politically motivated attack in October, and Brandon Tsey, who disarmed a shooting suspect in Monterey Park, California, during a mass shooting last month.

“He saved lives. The time has come for us to do the same,” the president said, calling for a ban on assault weapons “once and for all.”

“I led the fight to ban them in 1994. In the 10 years that the ban was in effect, the mass shootings stopped,” Biden said. “After the Republicans let it expire, mass shootings tripled. Let’s finish the job and ban assault weapons again.”

At several points in his speech, Biden touted several bipartisan achievements, including the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, calling it “the biggest investment in infrastructure since President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System.”

“We have already funded more than 20,000 projects, including at major airports from Boston to Atlanta to Portland,” Biden said. “These projects will force hundreds of thousands of people to work to restore our highways, bridges, railroads, tunnels, ports and airports, clean water and high-speed internet across America,” he added. “And we’re just getting started.

And Biden hailed the Inflation Reduction Act for cutting healthcare costs.

“With the Inflation Reduction Act that I signed into law, we are taking on powerful interests to lower your healthcare costs so you can sleep better at night,” he said.

“We capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for older people on Medicare,” Biden added. “Let’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it.”

When the president shut down his state in the country, he turned to climate change, calling it an “existential threat.”

“The climate crisis doesn’t care if your state is red or blue,” Biden warned. “We have an obligation to our children and grandchildren to stand up to this. I’m proud that America is finally up to the challenge. But there is still a lot to be done.”

“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 Union State is strong,” Biden concluded.

Following the State of the Union, the eight-foot metal fence that has been building around the US Capitol for three years is expected to be demolished by Wednesday.

Biden will travel to Madison, Wisconsin on Wednesday to defend his position. economic strategy and promote the latest positive jobs report. From there, he will travel to Tampa, Fla., on Thursday to showcase his plan to bolster Social Security and Medicare, while highlighting his continued commitment to cutting healthcare costs.

Traveling to several key swing states has sparked some speculation that Biden may soon announce his plans to run for a second term.

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