President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, and it is expected to be the culmination of his 2024 re-election campaign.
In his first joint session of both houses of Congress since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, Biden is expected to announce plans to rebuild the economy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight plans to large-scale and inflation-fighting infrastructure. adopted in 2022.
“I want to talk to the American people and let them know the state of the art … about what I hope to work on going forward, (about) what we’ve already done,” Biden told reporters Monday after his return from camp. -David’s presidential residence, where he spent the weekend working on the speech.
The White House said Biden would call on Congress to expand bipartisan cooperation to advance cancer research, support veterans and reduce national suicide rates, as well as expand mental health services and fight “the ‘opioid epidemic’.
Biden will urge lawmakers to “build on these historic bipartisan achievements” to improve the lives of Americans, Kristen Linke Young, Biden’s deputy assistant for health and veterans affairs, told reporters.
The White House also noted that Biden will highlight a series of economic proposals, including a minimum tax on billionaires and a quadruple tax on corporate stock buybacks.
On the foreign policy front, Biden is expected to focus on the US response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine , the strength and cohesion of NATO, and the tensions between the US and China that have escalated. recently intensified following the incident of a Chinese spy balloon shot down by the US military this week.
Another issue the president will ask Congress to address is tougher regulation of the tech sector, including stronger privacy protections, a White House official said.
During his speech, Biden will insist that raising the national debt ceiling is non-negotiable and should not be used as a “bargaining chip” by lawmakers, the director said Monday. of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday urged Biden to accept compromise and spending cuts, adding that “compromise is exactly how American leadership should work and exactly what the American people voted for.”
Biden’s speech will allow key members of his administration to make the case for his policies, which they say have helped stabilize the country’s economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and lead to a decline in inflation and more well-paying jobs.
