Speech could have been titled “Let’s Finish the Job” because he kept repeating the refrain
SOTU address: President Biden’s address made clear he will run for re-election as the speech could have been titled “Let’s Finish the Job” because he kept repeating the refrain — eight times precisely. Some details:
- It was very heavy on domestic issues, with little discussion of foreign policy.
- On foreign policy, Biden barely discussed China, and making only a passing reference to the balloon episode without directly mentioning it. He touted U.S. support for the war effort in Ukraine.
- After Biden touched on some sensitive political topics, some jeers, boos and comments were heard from GOP lawmakers in the audience. This included remarks about not touching Social Security and Medicare in any budget cuts. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) had several outbursts, screaming that China was spying on the U.S. when Biden mentioned competition with the rising Asian superpower. She yelled about China during Biden’s comments on combating fentanyl.
- Debt ceiling and federal spending comments included an unusual back-and-forth between Biden and the GOP side of the chamber, especially after Biden said some GOP lawmakers want to sunset Social Security and Medicare every five years. This was a reference to Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-Fla.) solo controversial plan. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has said he won’t touch Medicare and Social Security in the debt ceiling talks, could be seen shaking his head. Biden responded “Call my office. I’ll give you a copy of the proposal,” and said he “politely” wouldn’t name the individual who proposed the sunsets — Scott — and engaged in a rare back-and-forth from the podium with a few GOP objectors. Acknowledging the jeers, Biden said it appeared Republicans didn’t want to cut those programs after all. “We’ve got unanimity,” he declared.
- Items Biden wants to “finish the job” on include: (1) capping insulin costs at $35 by making the Affordable Care Act subsidy support permanent. (2) Congress “should close the loopholes that allow the very wealthy to avoid paying their taxes”; (3) Congress needs to “pass bipartisan legislation to strengthen antitrust enforcement and prevent big online platforms from giving their own products an unfair advantage…”; (4) “If you want America to have the best-educated workforce, let’s finish the job by providing access to pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds”; (5) Connecting high school students to careers and bolstering community college programs; (6) Banning assault weapons.
- On the economy, Biden wants to continue to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., bolster union protections and facilitate the transition to a cleaner energy economy. Biden noted his administration’s performance on jobs — “12 million new jobs,” and “more jobs created in two years than any president created in four years,” Biden said.
- On climate, Biden hailed the impact that the Inflation Reduction Act would have on green financing ahead. But when he said the U.S. is “going to need oil for at least another decade,” there was a very positive reaction from Republicans.
- Biden spent a lot of time on tax policy, using the oil and gas industry to argue for upping the tax on stock buybacks from 1% to 4%. The president called for Congress to pass a tax targeting billionaires, saying: “No billionaire should be paying a lower tax rate than a school teacher or firefighter.”
- Consumer-first policies pushed by his regulators were also a key feat. For example, “junk fees”, with Biden targeting airline fee practices, “exorbitant bank overdrafts” and credit card late fees, the latter of which we wrote about on Monday. Biden also mentioned work done by the Federal Trade Commission on non-compete agreements.
- Biden made a few references to food and rural America. Biden said, “Inflation has been a global problem because of the pandemic that disrupted supply chains and Putin’s war that disrupted energy and food supplies. But we’re better positioned than any country on Earth. “We have more to do, but here at home, inflation is coming down. Here at home, gas prices are down $1.50 a gallon since their peak. Food inflation is coming down.”
- The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Biden said, is “the largest investment in infrastructure since President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System. These projects will put hundreds of thousands of people to work rebuilding our highways, bridges, railroads, tunnels, ports and airports, clean water, and high-speed Internet across America. Urban. Suburban. Rural. Tribal.” Biden continued, “We’re making sure that every community has access to affordable, high-speed Internet. “No parent should have to drive to a McDonald’s parking lot so their kid can do their homework online.”
- Made in America. Biden announced “new standards to require all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made in America. American-made lumber, glass, drywall, fiber optic cables.”
- Biden noted several legislative achievements, including the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which he said would fund “historic conservation efforts,” a reference to the IRA’s expansion of farm bill conservation programs.
- Biden called on Congress to “come together on immigration and make it a bipartisan issue like it was before.” But he added: “If you won’t pass my comprehensive immigration reform, at least pass my plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border. And a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farmworkers, and essential workers.”
- No mention of getting a new farm bill was included in Biden’s not-so-forceful call for unity on key issues.
- Bottom line: Some note President Biden set a trap at the State of the Union address, and Republicans took the bait with their boos and heckling. The GOP SOTU response: Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders urged Republicans to fight Biden’s “woke mob.”