Biden is said to be speaking about vets, cancer patients and others

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday will outline some new steps to investigate illegal drugs, help veterans and cancer patients, and provide better access to mental health care.

It will be a slightly new version of the steps Biden outlined in those four areas in his State of the Union address last year. He called it an “unity agenda” and said the issues were those around which lawmakers and the public could unite, regardless of political affiliation.

Biden will use his State of the Union address Tuesday night to outline new steps to tackle illegal drugs, help veterans and cancer patients and make mental health care more available, according to aides who watched the details ahead of the speech.

dr Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said Biden will outline a “strong approach” to pursuing fentanyl and expanding public health efforts to reduce drug overdose deaths. These include using advanced technology to seize fentanyl at the border and working with commercial delivery companies to intercept packages, among other things, he said.

Biden will ask Congress to reauthorize the National Cancer Act, enacted more than half a century ago, to update U.S. cancer research and care systems.

The President will address veteran suicide by helping states and territories invest in community-based programs and expand educational resources.

On mental health, particularly for children, Biden will again urge Congress to support banning online advertising aimed at young people and improve privacy and transparency across the board. Biden added these safeguards to his agenda last year, but Congress has yet to pass legislation to address them. He will also discuss ways to connect more people to mental health care.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the State of the Union address at: https://apnews.com/hub/state-of-the-union-address

Darlene Superville, The Associated Press

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