WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, who has already signed one of the costliest measures in U.S. history to help the country rebound from the coronavirus crisis, will push for even more aggressive, long-term actions to reshape American life during his first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
The nationally televised, prime-time speech represents a coda to Biden’s initial 100 days in office, during which he focused on expanding vaccine distribution to slow the infection and death toll from COVID-19, and a pivot toward an increasingly ambitious agenda that, if successful, would make his presidency among the most transformative in generations.
Biden’s remarks are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Easten time, and pandemic restrictions mean he will be speaking to a relatively sparse gathering of fewer than half the 435 members of Congress in the House chamber, rather than to the usual packed audience of lawmakers, Supreme Court justices, Cabinet officials, military leaders, diplomats and other guests.
In a meeting with network and cable news anchors hours before his speech, Biden said his first goals after his inauguration were “ease the pain, save lives, put people in a position where they have reason to believe that they could actually get back and earn a living and provide for their families.” Now he wants to win what he describes as a global philosophical debate — centered on U.S. competition with China — over whether democracies can deliver for their citizens as efficiently as the autocracies that are gaining ground worldwide.
“Because if we go four more years like we had in the last four, I really, honest to God, believe we’re in real jeopardy as a nation,” Biden said.
During his speech, Biden will outline what he calls the “American Families Plan,” a just-released $1.8 trillion, 10-year proposal that would increase taxes on the wealthy to expand educational opportunities, provide paid family leave and offer tax credits to reduce the cost of childcare. Low- and middle-income families would be eligible for two years of preschool and two years of community college at no cost.
To pay for the proposals, Biden wants to end the favorable tax rate on capital gains from stocks and other assets for people earning at least $1 million per year and to undo former President Donald Trump’s reduction in the top income tax rate for wealthy Americans, restoring it to 39.6% from 37%.
The sweeping initiative comes on the heels of what the administration calls the “American Jobs Plan,” an even more expensive array of proposals to repair roads and bridges, expand broadband internet access, replace lead pipes and invest in caregiving programs for the elderly. The total cost is more than $2.25 trillion over eight years, and it would be financed largely by increasing the corporate tax rate, partially reversing a cut made by Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress in 2017.
Biden, an affable and familiar personality who has proved to be an effective front-man for progressive policy, already signed into law a $1.9 trillion plan for COVID-19 relief, extending unemployment benefits, delivering $1,400 payments to most Americans and funding the nationwide inoculation campaign. Together with the two longer-term packages, Biden’s plans would amount to about $6 trillion in spending and tax credits to invest in the nation’s human and capital resources.
In his speech, Biden is likely to combine a forward-looking explanation for such huge investments with a valedictory for the advances during his first months in office against both the pandemic and unemployment.
The U.S. has vaccinated a greater percentage of its population than almost any other country. Nearly 43% of Americans have received at least one dose, and 29% are considered fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Tuesday, Biden touted “stunning progress” made since he took office, and public health officials announced that fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks during outdoor activities as long as they’re not in crowds.
Although no Republicans supported Biden’s coronavirus relief package, the party has failed to mount much opposition to the legislation or diminish its popularity with the public. According to a recent poll, roughly seven in 10 Americans approve of Biden’s overall handling of the pandemic.
However, Biden’s latest ideas are already being hotly contested on Capitol Hill, where Republicans are blasting them as an extravagant liberal wish list and some Democrats are pushing for even more spending on social services.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the Senate’s second-highest-ranking Republican, described Biden’s plan as originating from the “hard left.”
“This is a transformational strategy, and they see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, along the lines of a couple of times we’ve seen in the history of our country where Democrats get power and just want to really build government,” he said.
Meanwhile, House Democrats released their own array of proposals that go beyond Biden’s plan, such as making the enhanced child tax credit permanent. Biden’s proposal would extend the credit through 2025.
Enacting any of this legislation will likely require unanimous Democratic support because the party has slim majorities in the House and Senate.
While congressional Republicans offered a scaled-down infrastructure package last week — an indication there may be room for a bipartisan compromise to repair roads, bridges, rail lines and airports — it’s unlikely the White House will win bipartisan support for its sweeping investments in workers and families. That leaves Congress’ so-called reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to sidestep filibuster threats to pass budget-related proposals, as the Democrats’ best shot at making Biden’s latest plan a reality.
