WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden will use his first address to a joint session of Congress to declare the nation is "turning peril into possibility," celebrating progress against the coronavirus and urging a US$1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that would fundamentally transform roles the government plays in American life.
For Biden, whose moment has been nearly a half century in the making, his speech will also provide an update on combating the COVID-19 crisis he was elected to tame, showcasing hundreds of millions of vaccinations and relief checks delivered to help offset the devastation wrought by a virus that has killed more than 573,000 people in the United States. He will also champion his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, a staggering figure to be financed by higher taxes on corporations.
"In our first 100 days together, we have acted to restore the people's faith in our democracy to deliver," he says in the excerpts, pointing to actions against the pandemic and resulting economic slide. But this year's scene at the front of the House chamber will have a historic look: For the first time, a female vice-president, Kamala Harris, will be seated behind the chief executive. And she will be seated next to another woman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And the setting will be unlike for any of Biden's predecessors, with members of Congress spread out and many Republicans citing "scheduling conflicts" to stay away.
In his first three months in office, Biden has signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill -- passed without a single GOP vote -- and has shepherded direct payments of $1,400 per person to more than 160 million households. Hundreds of billions of dollars in aid will soon arrive for state and local governments, enough money that overall U.S. growth this year could eclipse 6% -- a level not seen since 1984. Administration officials are betting that it will be enough to bring back all 8.
Turning peril into financial disaster
Of course he would say that, how would he, or anyone, say the opposite? He is a politician, essentially a liar.