Biden outlines an optimistic vision for the future of the United States in his State of the Union address

Photo: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

Joe Biden will outline an optimistic vision for America’s future in his second State of the Union address on Tuesday, White House officials said, hoping to combat widespread sentiment of pessimism in a new era of divided government.

As he marks the halfway point in his first term, Biden is expected to tout his legislative achievements from his first two years in office — including a comprehensive health and climate package, an infrastructure bill and major new investments in the domestic semiconductor industry.

“This president is focused on delivering results for the American people, and we’ve seen him do it time and time again,” said Kate Bedingfield, White House communications director. “We look forward to continuing to speak to the American people about our work and the results we are delivering.”

However, polls show that most Americans have yet to feel the impact of Biden’s policies in their everyday lives, especially when it comes to their personal finances. Although inflation is gradually cooling down after peaking at an alarming 9.1% last summer, only 21% of Americans are positive about the current economic situation, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.

The labor market, which has been a bright spot for the US economy in recent months, is also lacking in confidence among the American public. The country’s unemployment rate hit a 53-year low of 3.4% last month, but just 34% of Americans say Biden has made progress in creating more quality jobs for their communities, a new poll from ABC News/Washington Post revealed.

Brian Deese, the outgoing director of the National Economic Council, said Biden will acknowledge these challenges in his State of the Union address, stressing that their “economic fear is real.”

“I think the key message is: we have to keep moving forward, but people should feel optimistic,” he said Monday.

However, progress will now be even more difficult for Biden to achieve. With Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, Biden faces significant hurdles in advancing his legislative agenda. Looking ahead to the president’s primetime speech, White House officials said he will work with the new House Republican majority to find common ground.

“We will work bipartisanly with Congress to make progress on the issues we are debating today,” Bedingfield said.

But the relationship between Biden and new Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy got off to a rocky start. McCarthy has called for government spending cuts in return for raising the debt ceiling, but Biden has insisted on a “clean” bill to raise the nation’s borrowing limit without strings attached. The Treasury Department has warned the US could default if the debt ceiling is not raised by June.

In a speech Monday, McCarthy defended the Republican strategy of using the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip for spending cuts.

“The debt ceiling is one of the most important opportunities Congress has to change course,” he argued.

But the Republican’s speech was sparse with details about exactly what programs his party would target. McCarthy said cuts to Medicare and Social Security — popular federal programs — were “off the table” and told reporters Republicans would not raise taxes, leaving it unclear how his party plans to cut the federal budget.

Deese said Biden will specifically argue in Tuesday’s speech that raising the federal borrowing limit is “the constitutional obligation of Congress” and the responsibility of all elected officials to ensure the United States does not default on its debt.

Biden is willing to hold separate talks with Republicans on fiscal discipline, Deese noted, but he has made it clear he will not allow them to use the full confidence and credit rating of the United States to force spending cuts.

“You’re going to hear an openness and actually a willingness to have a really serious conversation about the country’s fiscal and economic priorities and where we can find common ground,” Deese said. “Those are the kinds of conversations you have in a normal budget process, and that’s the appropriate way to approach these things.”

In a sign that the country – and Congress – has adapted to living with Covid, the White House and lawmakers resumed the tradition of bringing guests who send a political message.

In the box with First Lady Jill Biden are the parents of Tire Nichols, the 29-year-old black father who was brutally beaten by Memphis police officers and later died; the 26-year-old man who disarmed a gunman during a shooting in Monterey Park, California; Singer and humanitarian Bono and Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who in the days leading up to the midterm elections was brutally assaulted by a hammer-wielding assailant allegedly trying to violate the Democratic lawmaker. For the second straight year, Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, will also be a guest of the Bidens as the president pleads for sustained support as the nation defends itself against a Russian attack.

Arkansas Gov.-elect Sarah Sanders, who had made a name for herself nationally as Trump’s press secretary, was asked to deliver the Republican response to Biden’s speech. Sanders, currently America’s youngest governor at 40, is expected to call for a new generation of leaders and attack Biden over his immigration and crime policies.

However, White House officials said Biden will use the speech to extol the merits of bipartisanship, which was part of his pitch when running for president.

Biden’s speech calls on lawmakers to act on his so-called “unified agenda” and includes initiatives the White House believes can break the partisan deadlock, including efforts to crack down on illicit drugs, improve access to mental health care, increase support for cancer research and address high rates of homelessness and suicide among veterans.

The president’s second State of the Union address comes just days after the president ordered the US military to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was crossing the country, in a moment of already heightened tensions sparking a diplomatic crisis between the two global superpowers triggered.

In preparation for the event, Biden spent much of the weekend and part of Monday partnering with advisors and his chief speechwriter Vinay Reddy to refine the address at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland.

As befits the president, he was “heavily involved in the drafting process,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“If you listen to the speech, there is no question that this is a Joe Biden speech on the State of the Union,” she said.

Source