Watch & Comment: President Joe Biden Delivers State of the Union Address

Biden Delivers State of the Union Address

• President Joe Biden delivered his state of the union address to a joint session of Congress from the House chamber Tuesday night, which ran for 61 minutes and 51 seconds. 
• It was the first official state of the union address of his presidency after he delivered the traditional address to a joint session of Congress last year that newly-inaugurated presidents give during their first year in office. Biden discussed domestic and foreign policy initiatives for his administration in the year ahead.
• A preview of his remarks and excerpts of his speech as delivered can be found below.

Speech Preview 

• Advance excerpts of the speech indicated that on the domestic front, he would likely touch on the threat posed by inflation to the economy, the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and Democrats’ spending plans in Congress ― though he wasn’t expected to refer to the stalled Build Back Better bill that Democrats have been unable to reach a consensus on. 
• In terms of foreign policy, Biden was expected to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the response to it by the U.S. and its allies. It’s unclear whether he will discuss the withdrawal from Afghanistan or efforts to evacuate American citizens, legal permanent residents, and Afghan allies who were promised an opportunity to come to the U.S. but remain in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
• There will be less restrictions on attendance by lawmakers due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year like there were last year when Biden addressed the joint session of Congress, but the House chamber isn't expected to be as full as it has been traditionally in the past. The House’s attending physician also lifted the chamber’s mask mandate, so lawmakers and other attendees can be maskless if they so choose. Attendees were required to undergo a COVID-19 test beforehand.

Key Quotes From Biden's Speech

• Biden began by introducing one his special guests, the Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., who was in attendance with First Lady Jill Biden and received a standing ovation from the chamber. The president reiterated condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin for his “premeditated and unprovoked” invasion of Ukraine, and offered praise for the Ukrainian people’s will to fight for their freedom:

“And we remain clear-eyed. The Ukrainians are fighting back with pure courage. But the next few days weeks, months, will be hard on them. 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. And a proud Ukrainian people, who have known 30 years of independence, have repeatedly shown that they will not tolerate anyone who tries to take their country backwards.”

• To blunt rising energy prices, which are partially due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but were increasing prior to that, Biden said he will release 30 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an amount equal to about one and a half days worth of oil consumption in the U.S. He added that "we stand to do more if necessary, unified with our allies" who are releasing an additional 30 million barrels of oil.
• Biden touted the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which Democrats passed along party-lines using the reconciliation process in 2021, and took a shot at Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from 2017, eliciting the first partisan reaction of the evening:

“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. Helped put food on their table, keep a roof over their heads, and cut the cost of health insurance. And as my Dad used to say, it gave people a little breathing room. And unlike the $2 Trillion tax cut passed in the previous administration that benefitted the top 1% of Americans, the American Rescue Plan helped working people—and left no one behind.”

• Biden praised the enactment of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and thanked the lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who helped get it through Congress:

“Now our infrastructure is ranked 13th in the world. We won’t be able to compete for the jobs of the 21st Century if we don’t fix that. That’s why it was so important to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—the most sweeping investment to rebuild America in history. This was a bipartisan effort, and I want to thank the members of both parties who worked to make it happen. We’re done talking about infrastructure weeks. We’re going to have an infrastructure decade.”

• Biden said that inflation, which has been at a 40-year high in recent months, is “robbing” families of the gains they might otherwise feel and said his “top priority” is getting prices under control. To that end, he urged businesses to reduce their costs instead of wages and to make more products in America:

“One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I have a better plan to fight inflation. Lower your costs, not your wages. Make more cars and semiconductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America. More jobs where you can earn a good living in America. And instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America.”

• Biden renewed his call for the Senate to pass Democrats’ election reform bills, which are stalled in the chamber because they lack the 60 votes needed to overcome the legislative filibuster. Biden stopped short of repeating his call for the chamber to use the “nuclear option” to end the filibuster, but said state laws are threatening the right to vote: 

“The most fundamental right in America is the right to vote – and to have it counted. And it’s under assault. In state after state, new laws have been passed, not only to suppress the vote, but to subvert entire elections. We cannot let this happen. Tonight. I call on the Senate to: Pass the Freedom to Vote Act. Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. And while you’re at it, pass the Disclose Act so Americans can know who is funding our elections.”

Iowa Governor to Deliver GOP Response

• Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R-IA) is expected to deliver the Republican Party’s response to Biden’s state of the union address, which will likely begin about five minutes after Biden concludes his remarks. She has been serving as governor since 2017 and will be speaking from Des Moines, Iowa.
• Per advance excerpts of her remarks, Reynolds is expected to outline how the Republican Party’s policy contrasts with Biden’s. Specifically, she’s likely to address the president’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the impact of inflation on the U.S. economy, and the importance of keeping schools open and empowering parents in education policy.
• Typically, the response to the state of the union address is considerably shorter than the president’s remarks.

This article may be updated with excerpts of Reynolds’s remarks.

— Eric Revell