Biden will use his first address to Congress to announce tax raid on rich to fund his $1.8T American Families Plan and say the bar for convicting cops is 'too high'
President Joe Biden will use his address to Congress on Wednesday evening to tout his accomplishments in his first 100 days in office and expand his vision for the next stage of his presidency.
The speech will be a fraction of its traditional size - only 200 people in the House chamber as opposed to the usual 1,600due to coronavirus restrictions - but will be large in scope.
He'll cover a range of topics - COVID-19, police reform, and immigration. But the main focus will be the next phase in his plan to help the US economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic - his $1.8 trillion families plan.
'On his mind are issues like police reform, health and his commitment to expanding access to health care,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday. 'So I expect he'll talk about a range of issues.'
When he addresses the nation, Biden will have a historic backdrop behind him: Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris - two women in the frame as he speaks.
President Joe Biden will include a range of topics in his Joint Address to Congress on Wednesday night - COVID, police reform and immigration but his biggest focus will be on his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan
Biden plans to note the historic occasion at the beginning of his speech, The Washington Post reported. Both women will wear face masks in keeping with coronavirus restrictions put in place in the House chamber.
The 200 guests - which will include first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff - will be spread out on the House floor and in the balconies above to keep with social distancing guidelines.
No lawmaker will be allowed to bring a guest and only one Supreme Court justice, Chief Justice John Roberts, is expected to attend. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will represent the military. Traditionally multiple justices on the high court along and members of the Joint Chiefs attend with most of the Cabinet.
Psaki said on Thursday that most senior White House staff and officials will be watching Biden's remarks from home. Many Republicans are expected to boycott.
Here's a look at the some of the items Biden is expected to address during the speech:
AMERICAN FAMILIES PLAN
Biden will reveal his 'human infrastructure' plan - American Families Plan - with its $1.8 trillion price tag.
It will focus on social programs such as national child care, prekindergarten, paid family leave and tuition-free community college.
'A core of that will be him laying out the specifics of the American Families Plan, his commitment to child care, to education, and to delivering on those middle class priorities,' Psaki said last week.
The plan remains a work in progress with some items becoming a point of contention among Democrats. Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill, for example, wants to include lowering the cost of prescription drugs, a move opposed by the pharmaceutical industry. The White House was looking to cut it but Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among those lobbying for it to stay in.
There is also an internecine battle over health care. Progressives want additional funds to expand Medicaid. Moderate in the Democratic Party want to expand the Affordable Care Act.
Republicans are expected to oppose the entire package, which follows Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief measure. His $2 trillion infrastructure package is working its way through the legislative process. Republicans have already offered a scaled back counter proposal for a fourth of the cost and keeps the focus on traditional infrastructure items.
Top pay for his American Families Plan, Biden wants to hike the top income tax rate back to where it was before the Trump tax cuts and nearly double capital gains rates for top earners.
The president would push the top income tax rate up to 39.6 per cent – where it was before President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts. Capital gains – where Biden has already called for changes to end a major 'loophole,' would jack up rates from their current 20 per cent for those earning more than $1 million.
Biden has pledged only to raise taxes on households making more than $400,000. But the administration hasn't been clear as to whether that limit applies to individual earnings or combined household - a distinction that makes a big difference especially in areas on the East and West Coasts where the cost of living is high.
POLICE REFORM
Biden is also expected to address police reform in his speech, which will be his most high-profile public address since his remarks on Inauguration Day.
'He believes the bar for convicting officers is too high,' Psaki said last week. 'It needs to be changed.'
Police reform has returned to the forefront of public discourse in the wake of Derek Chauvin being convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Biden addressed the nation in the aftermath of the verdict.
Psaki said Biden supports a bill that would ban chokeholds and require that deadly force only be used as a last resort in arrests.
That bill has passed in the House of Representatives but faces a rough time in the closely divided Senate.
President Biden is expected to talk about police reform in the wake of the Derek Chauvin trial in the death of George Floyd
IMMIGRATION REFORM
Biden is expected to address immigration reform in some fashion.
His immigration proposal - unveiled in March via Democrats on Capitol Hill - offers an eight-year path to citizenship for most of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, eliminates restrictions on family-based immigration and expands worker visas.
What is unclear is how he will address the situation on the US-Mexico border where a record number of migrants are crossing illegally.
In March, US Custom and Border Patrol apprehended 18,656 unaccompanied minors at the southern border, a record since at least October 2009 and double February's numbers.
The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 and does not include a large focus on increased border enforcement. And Biden has stopped work on Trump's border wall.
Biden tapped Vice President Harris to deal with the diplomatic aspect of the crisis. She has yet to visit the border but she does plan to visit Central America in June.
The administration has refused to call the situation at the border a 'crisis.' When Biden did use that word to describe the situation, the White House quickly walked it back.
'The president does not feel that children coming to our border, seeking refuge from violence, economic hardships and other dire circumstances is a crisis,' Psaki said.
President Joe Biden will talk about immigration reform but it's unclear how or if he'll talk about the situation at the border - above migrants and asylum seekers are seen after spending the night in one of the car lanes off the San Ysidro Crossing Port on the Mexican side of the border
REPUBLICAN RESPONSE
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will give the GOP response to Biden's remarks.
Scott, the lone black Republican in the Senate, has taken the lead on police reform for his party.
'I'm excited and honored for this opportunity to address the nation,' he said. 'I look forward to having an honest conversation with the American people and sharing Republicans' optimistic vision for expanding opportunity and empowering working families.'
The response to a presidential address is seen as a possible star-making role for a member of the opposing party. Stacey Abrams gave the response for Democrats to one of President Donald Trump's State of the Union addresses.
But the platform also can be fraught with peril. There is a long list of politicians on both sides of the aisle who have bombed - Senator Marco Rubio famously stopped speaking to take a drink of water when he gave the response to one of Barack Obama's speeches.
By picking Scott, GOP leaders focused their response to the president on Congress and the role it will play in countering Biden's legislative agenda as opposed to picking a Republican who is weighing a 2024 presidential bid.
Scott is set to introduce his police reform bill in a few weeks and has spoken a potential compromise with Democrats Rep. Karen Bass and Sen. Cory Booker.
'I think we are on the verge of wrapping this up in the next week or two, depending on how quickly they respond to our suggestions,' Scott told reporters.
Republicans have criticized for Biden for not doing more to reach out to them as part of his promise to unify the country. They claim his policies are out of touch with mainstream Americans.
'Nobody is better at communicating why far-left policies fail working Americans,' said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in announcing Scott will give the party's response.
As for the final text of Biden's remarks, Psaki noted it's still being worked on.
'We're working through' the content and what will make the final cut, she said at Thursday's press briefing, adding 'unless you want to sit through a seven hour speech, which I don't think you do.'
Well I think GLOBAL BOUNTIES on criminal empty heads is a GOOD IDEA! Start with Fauci, GATES, SOROS, Clintons and hey.... PED0 JOE!
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