Biden to highlight economic achievements at State of the Union address

President Joe Biden will use his second State of the Union address on Tuesday to remind Americans how their lives have improved during the first two years of his administration as he tries to confront pessimism at home and navigate the thorny politics of a new division in Washington.

Instead of presenting major new policy proposals, Biden is expected to spend much of his speech highlighting his work over the past two years to create jobs, fight inflation and improve the country’s infrastructure. The president is trying to appeal to voters ahead of the announcement that is expected to take place in the coming months that he will run for office again despite voter frustration over the direction the nation is headed.

“Next week I will be reporting on the State of the Union,” Biden said Friday after a better-than-expected jobs report was released, which said the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in more than 53 years. “But today I’m happy to report that the State of the Union and the state of our economy is strong.”

Biden will give his speech from the podium of the House of Representatives in a completely different context than last year. Now Republicans control the floor, so it’s unlikely any significant new bills will make it to the president’s desk. The GOP is eager to reverse many of Biden’s gains and make the ugly point of ongoing investigations, including one into recent findings, at his residence and an office, of confidential documents from his time as vice president.

“Jobs are up, wages are up, inflation is down, and COVID no longer controls our lives,” Biden told the Democratic National Committee on Friday. “But now, the extreme Republicans in the ‘Make America Great Again’ caucus in the House of Representatives have made it abundantly clear that they intend to put everything on the line. They want to destroy it.”

Meanwhile, the president is shifting his focus from legislating to implementing his huge climate and infrastructure initiatives passed by the previous Congress. And in trying to make sure that Americans give him credit for the improvements.

“These things don’t sell themselves,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told NBC. “And it’s one of the reasons why I’m really looking forward to that State of the Union address. this government. It can be difficult to list them all in a condensed form.”

While the possibility of large-scale bipartisan action in Washington remains unlikely, Biden is set to reiterate his 2022 call for Congress to back his “unity agenda” of action to address the opioid epidemic, health Mental Health, Veterans Health and Cancer.

Biden will also urge lawmakers to responsibly raise the government debt ceiling and maintain government funding. The president has continued to oppose negotiating to avoid a default, while Republicans seek deep spending cuts to reduce the deficit.