During this year’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden’s remarks about the Russia-Ukraine invasion was met with a rare bipartisan standing ovation.
In an hour-long address Biden also talked about infrastructure and the economy.
Straight out of the gate President Biden focused on the current situation in Ukraine. His powerful comments about the tenacity of the Ukrainian people as well as his determination to protect NATO allies should the Russian President Vladimir Putin threaten them, resulted in a standing ovation on both sides of the congressional divide.
“The United States and our allies will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective power. Every. Single. Inch,” Biden said.
The President announced that the U.S. will be providing $1 billion in direct assistance to Ukraine. This money will be going towards military, economic, and humanitarian assistance in the country.
The U.S. and its allies will be continuing to put sanctions on Russia as a way to punish them for their actions, while supporting the rest of the global economy. They will be releasing a total of 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world as a way to support the economies during this time. The U.S. will be leading this with 30 million barrels from the U.S. reserves.
“Putin has unleashed violence and chaos. But while he may make gains on the battlefield – he will pay a continuing high price over the long run.”
President Biden followed the Ukraine update by celebrating the recent passing of the American Rescue Plan.
“Few pieces of legislation have done more in a critical moment in our history to lift us out of crisis. It fueled our efforts to vaccinate the nation and combat COVID-19. It delivered immediate economic relief for tens of millions of Americans,” he said.
He spent a great deal of time discussing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He mentioned the ways it would benefit the country now that it has passed. It would modernize transportation like roads, airports, and ports, as well as create jobs for Americans, with 4,000 projects already announced.
President Biden then encouraged Congress to pass the bipartisan innovation act, or Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 as called in Congress, which will make investments in new technologies and American manufacturing.
He announced a plan to fight inflation, by lowering the cost of products rather than decreasing wages. Build in America, decrease the cost of pharmaceuticals, and cutting energy costs. Increasing job opportunities through training and apprenticeship programs and through free community college opportunities. Community colleges which he called “America’s best-kept secret.”
President Biden proposed a 15% minimum tax rate for corporations while keeping the tax rate the same for people making less than $400,000.
He announced that the Justice Department will appointing chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud, to find people who took pandemic relief intended for small businesses.
Biden worked on changing the framing of the “defund the police” narrative seen across the nation, he said,
“We should all agree: The answer is not to Defund the police. The answer is to FUND the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities,” he said.
In a little over an hour speech he also called on the legislators to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act; pass the Disclose Act so Americans can know who is funding the elections; and pass the Bipartisan Equality Act to end states laws that are targeting transgender Americans.
He ended with “The Unity Agenda for the Nation. Four big things we can do together”
- beat the opioid epidemic.
- take on mental health. Especially with those struggling because of the pandemic.
- support veterans. This topic caused heated emotions on both sides of the isle as he discussed the deaths caused by burn pits from the Afghanistan war.
- end cancer as we know it.
His final remarks to the nation were directed to the people to uplift them as the nation continues to grow out of the pandemic.
“And my report is this: the State of the Union is strong—because you, the American people, are strong. We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today. Now is our moment to meet and overcome the challenges of our time. And we will, as one people. One America. The United States of America. May God bless you all. May God protect our troops.”
