Speech to Congress | Joe Biden: “America is moving back”

(New York) In his first inaugural address as President on January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan announced a new era of conservative administration by uttering the now popular phrase: “Government is not the solution to us. Problems, the problem is there.”

Richard Hutt
Special collaboration

Forty years and a few months later, Joe Biden proposed a major shift in his first speech to Congress on Wednesday evening, identifying his intention to use government power to end this era and create jobs and help the people. Middle and low income families.

Before 100^e He also praised the achievements of his administration during his presidency, during the worst epidemics of a century and after an uprising that shook the temple of American democracy.

“Now, 100 days later, I can tell the nation that America is moving again,” Joe Biden said of the $ 1.9 trillion bailout last March.

“100 days ago, an American house caught fire. We had to act, so we accepted the US trigger package and managed over 200 million volumes [de vaccin], Sent more than 160 million relief checks, provided food and rental assistance to millions, and provided loans to small businesses, ”he said.

The Democratic president promoted a significant portion of his 65-minute speech promoting the other two ambitious plans. One is to spend $ 2.3 trillion to renovate America’s infrastructure, and the other is to spend $ 1.8 trillion to help families and provide four years of free education.

Throughout his speech he suggested that these texts be translated into jobs for blue-collar workers, which include investments dedicated to tackling climate change.

“The most important word to deal with the climate crisis is: jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said.

To “pay their fair share” to the rich

In order to finance his ambitious plans, Joe Biden proposed a solution that Ronald Reagan’s political heirs would consider a sacrifice: earning more than $ 400,000 a year in taxes for Americans and raising taxes for American companies.

“I will not impose any tax increase on those earning less than $ 400,000, but it’s time for American companies and the richest 1% to start paying their fair share,” the president said before criticizing the tax cuts presented by Donald Trump.

Overcoming the central idea of ​​the Reagan era, he said, “the tricky economy never worked.”

The president again called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour.

Some precedents

Joe Biden’s address happened under unprecedented circumstances. For the first time, two women sat behind the U.S. president when he addressed Congress. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who was not in her first experience, joined Vice President Kamala Harris, who attended another first event.

“Madame President, Madame Vice President. No one from this word has ever said those words before. This is the time, “said Joe Biden, chief of The Christian Science Monitor’s Washington bureau.

The COVID-19 epidemic has set another precedent. The President addressed a scattered audience, with seats left vacant in the hemisphere of the Chamber to ensure that senators, delegates and other dignitaries provided adequate physical distance.

During a gossip speech, Joe Biden called on Congress to implement reforms in guns, police and immigration. He also spoke about his policies towards China, Russia and Afghanistan.

Referring to Franklin Roosevelt at the end of his speech, Joe Biden stressed that the future of American democracy is in jeopardy.

“We have to prove that democracy still works. Let our government still function and let it serve the people,” he said.

Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott provided his party’s response to Joe Biden’s speech. He rejected the Democratic president’s proposed left-wing turnaround.

“Our best future does not come from Washington’s plans or socialist dreams. It will come from you, the American people,” said the only African-American senator in the Senate.