President
Joe
Biden
delivers
his
State of
the
Union
speech
to a
joint
session
of
Congress,
at the
Capitol
in
Washington,
Tuesday,
Feb. 7,
2023.
(AP
Photo/J.
Scott
Applewhite) |
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Sen.
Mitt
Romney,
R-Utah,
accompanied
by Sen.
Kyrsten
Sinema,
D-Ariz.,
arrive
for
President
Joe
Biden's
State of
the
Union
address
to a
joint
session
of
Congress
at the
Capitol,
Tuesday,
Feb. 7,
2023, in
Washington.
(AP
Photo/Jose
Luis
Magana) |
|
Biden in
State of
Union
exhorts
Congress:
'Finish
the job'
By
ZEKE
MILLER,
SEUNG
MIN KIM
and
LISA
MASCARO
apnews.com
WASHINGTON
-
President
Joe
Biden
exhorted
Congress
Tuesday
night to
work
with him
to
“finish
the job”
of
rebuilding
the
economy
and
uniting
the
nation
as he
delivered
a State
of the
Union
address
aimed at
reassuring
a
country
beset by
pessimism
and
fraught
political
divisions.
In
his
73-minute
speech,
Biden
sought
to
portray
a nation
dramatically
improved
from the
one he
took
charge
of two
years
ago:
from a
reeling
economy
to one
prosperous
with new
jobs;
from a
crippled,
pandemic-weary
nation
to one
that has
now
reopened,
and a
democracy
that has
survived
its
biggest
test
since
the
Civil
War.
“Folks,
the
story of
America
is a
story of
progress
and
resilience.
Of
always
moving
forward.
Of
never,
ever,
giving
up,”
Biden
said.
“It’s a
story
unique
among
all
nations.
We’re
the only
country
that has
emerged
from
every
crisis
we’ve
ever
entered
stronger
than
when we
got into
it.”
“We’re
not
finished
yet by
any
stretch
of the
imagination,”
he
declared.
The
backdrop
for the
annual
address
was
markedly
different
from the
previous
two
years,
with a
Republican
speaker
now
sitting
expressionless
behind
Biden
and
newly
empowered
GOP
lawmakers
in the
chamber
sometimes
shouting
criticism
of him
and his
administration.
As
Biden,
80,
prepares
for a
likely
reelection
bid, he
sought
to prove
to a
skeptical
nation
that his
stewardship
has
delivered
results
both at
home and
abroad.
He
highlighted
record
job
creation
during
his
tenure
as the
country
has
emerged
from the
COVID-19
pandemic,
and
pointed
to areas
of
bipartisan
progress
in his
first
two
years in
office,
including
on
states’
vital
infrastructure
projects
and
high-tech
manufacturing.
And he
said,
“There
is no
reason
we can’t
work
together
and find
consensus
on
important
thing in
this
Congress
as
well.”
“The
people
sent us
a clear
message.
Fighting
for the
sake of
fighting,
power
for the
sake of
power,
conflict
for the
sake of
conflict,
gets us
nowhere,”
Biden
said.
“That’s
always
been my
vision
for the
country:
to
restore
the soul
of the
nation,
to
rebuild
the
backbone
of
America
— the
middle
class —
and
unite
the
country.”
“We’ve
been
sent
here to
finish
the
job!”
But
the
challenges
for
Biden
are
many:
economic
uncertainty,
a
wearying
war in
Ukraine,
growing
tensions
with
China
and
more.
Signs of
past
trauma
at the
Capitol,
most
notably
the Jan.
6, 2021
insurrection,
were
unavoidable:
A large
fence
encircled
the
complex,
and
lawmakers
and
those in
attendance
faced
tighter-than-usual
security.
From
the
start,
the
heightened
partisan
divisions
were
clear.
Democrats
—
including
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris —
jumped
to
applause
as Biden
began
his
speech.
New
Republican
House
Speaker
Kevin
McCarthy,
though
he had
greeted
the
president
warmly
when he
entered
the
chamber,
stayed
in his
seat.
The
speech
came as
Biden
has
shifted
his
sights
after
spending
his
first
two
years
pushing
through
major
bills
such as
the
bipartisan
infrastructure
package,
legislation
to
promote
high-tech
manufacturing
and
climate
measures.
With
Republicans
now in
control
of the
House,
and even
meeting
the
government’s
fiscal
obligations
far from
certain,
Biden is
turning
his
focus to
implementing
those
massive
laws and
making
sure
voters
credit
him for
the
improvements.
Instead
of
flashy
proposals,
the
president
offered
an
encouraging
assessment
of the
nation’s
condition,
declaring
that two
years
after
the
Capitol
attack,
America’s
democracy
was
“unbowed
and
unbroken.”
The
president
took to
the
House
rostrum
at a
time
when
just a
quarter
of U.S.
adults
say
things
are
headed
in the
right
direction,
according
to a new
poll by
The
Associated
Press-NORC
Center
for
Public
Affairs
Research.
About
three-quarters
say
things
are on
the
wrong
track.
And a
majority
of
Democrats
don’t
want
Biden to
seek
another
term.
He
sought
to
confront
those
sentiments
head-on.
“You
wonder
whether
the path
even
exists
anymore
for your
children
to get
ahead
without
having
to move
away,”
Biden
said. “I
get
that.
That’s
why
we’re
building
an
economy
where no
one is
left
behind.
Jobs are
coming
back,
pride is
coming
back
because
of the
choices
we made
in the
last
several
years.”
Biden on
Wednesday
was to
travel
to
Wisconsin,
as he
and
members
of his
Cabinet
embark
on a
two-day,
20-state
blitz to
highlight
economic
progress
in his
first
two
years in
office.
Arkansas
Gov.
Sarah
Huckabee
Sanders,
who
gained a
national
profile
as
former
President
Donald
Trump’s
press
secretary,
delivered
the
Republican
response
to
Biden’s
speech.
She
focused
much of
her
remarks
on
social
issues,
including
race in
business
and
education
and
alleged
big-tech
censorship
of
conservatives.
“While
you reap
the
consequences
of their
failures,
the
Biden
administration
seems
more
interested
in woke
fantasies
than the
hard
reality
Americans
face
every
day,”
she
said.
“Most
Americans
simply
want to
live
their
lives in
freedom
and
peace,
but we
are
under
attack
in a
left-wing
culture
war we
didn’t
start
and
never
wanted
to
fight.”
“The
choice
is
between
normal
and
crazy,”
she
added.
With
COVID-19
restrictions
now
lifted,
the
White
House
and
legislators
from
both
parties
invited
guests
designed
to drive
home
political
messages
with
their
presence
in the
House
chamber.
The
mother
and
stepfather
of Tyre
Nichols,
who was
severely
beaten
by
police
officers
in
Memphis
and
later
died,
were
among
those
seated
with
first
lady
Jill
Biden.
Other
Biden
guests
included
the rock
star/humanitarian
Bono and
26-year-old
Brandon
Tsay,
who
disarmed
a gunman
in last
month’s
Monterey
Park,
California,
shooting.
“There’s
no words
to
describe
the
heartache
and
grief of
losing a
child,”
Biden
said
after
introducing
RowVaughn
and
Rodney
Wells to
a
standing
ovation.
He
called
on
Congress
to “rise
to this
moment”
to make
meaningful
change
in
policing.
Biden
drew
bipartisan
applause
when he
praised
most law
enforcement
officers
as
“good,
decent,
honorable
people”
but
added
that
“when
police
officers
or
police
departments
violate
the
public’s
trust,
they
must be
held
accountable.”
Members
of the
Congressional
Black
Caucus
invited
family
members
of those
involved
in
police
incidents,
as they
sought
to press
for
action
on
police
reform
in the
wake of
Nichols’
death.
Biden,
not
known
for his
lofty
oratory,
appeared
relaxed
and
confident
as he
delivered
his
address.
He
casually
adlibbed
jokes
and
rejoinders,
seeming
to feed
off the
responses
from
Democratic
lawmakers
who
frequently
stood
with
thunderous
ovations
and
playfully
engaging
with
Republican
critics.
Addressing
Republicans
who
voted
against
the big
bipartisan
infrastructure
law,
Biden
said
he’d
still
ensure
their
pet
projects
received
federal
support.
“I
promised
to be
the
president
for all
Americans,”
he said.
“We’ll
fund
these
projects.
And I’ll
see you
at the
ground-breaking.”
Occasional
Republican
heckling
— some
drawing
hushes
from
McCarthy
—
reflected
the
newly
empowered
GOP that
is
itching
to undo
many of
Biden’s
achievements
and
vowing
to
pursue a
multitude
of
investigations
—
including
looking
into the
recent
discoveries
of
classified
documents
from his
time as
vice
president
at his
home and
former
office.
Though
he
pledged
bipartisanship
where
possible,
Biden
also
underscored
the
sharp
tensions
that
exist:
He
discussed
GOP
efforts
to
repeal
the
Democrats’
2022
climate
change
and
healthcare
law and
their
reluctance
to
increase
the
federal
debt
limit,
the
nation’s
legal
borrowing
authority
that
must be
raised
later
this
year or
risk
default.
“Instead
of
making
the
wealthy
pay
their
fair
share,
some
Republicans
— some
Republicans
want
Medicare
and
Social
Security
to
sunset.
I am not
saying
it’s a
majority,”
Biden
said. As
GOP
lawmakers
in the
audience
pushed
back,
Biden
responded:
“We’re
not
going to
be moved
into
being
threatened
to
default
on the
debt if
we don’t
respond.”
Still,
some
Republicans
refused
to back
down,
with
Rep.
Marjorie
Taylor
Greene,
R-Ga.,
and
others
jumping
to their
feet,
some
yelling
“Liar!”
The
president
answered
back,
“Stand
up and
show
them: We
will not
cut
Social
Security!
We will
not cut
Medicare!”
As
Republicans
continued
to
protest
his
accusations,
he said,
“We’ve
got
unanimity.”
While
hopes
for
large-scale
bipartisanship
are
slim,
Biden
reissued
his 2022
appeal
for
Congress
to get
behind
his
“unity
agenda”
of
actions
to
address
the
opioid
epidemic,
mental
health,
veterans’
health
and
cancer.
In
fiery
refrains,
Biden
said the
phrase
“finish
the job”
13
times,
challenging
lawmakers
to
complete
the work
of his
administration
on
capping
insulin
costs
for all
Americans,
confronting
climate
change,
raising
taxes on
the
wealthy
and
corporations
and
banning
assault-style
weapons.
But on
all of
those
fronts,
the
divided
government
is even
less
likely
to yield
than the
Congress
under
sole
Democratic
control.
The
speech
came
days
after
Biden
ordered
the
military
to shoot
down a
suspected
Chinese
spy
balloon
that
flew
brazenly
across
the
country,
captivating
the
nation
and
serving
as a
reminder
of tense
relations
between
the two
global
powers.
“Make no
mistake:
As we
made
clear
last
week, if
China’s
threatens
our
sovereignty,
we will
act to
protect
our
country,”
Biden
said.
“And we
did.”
Last
year’s
address
occurred
just
days
after
Russia
launched
its
invasion
of
Ukraine
and as
many in
the West
doubted
Kyiv’s
ability
to
withstand
the
onslaught.
Over the
past
year,
the U.S.
and
other
allies
have
sent
tens of
billions
of
dollars
in
military
and
economic
assistance
to
bolster
Ukraine’s
defenses.
Now,
Biden
must
make the
case —
both at
home and
abroad —
for
sustaining
that
coalition
as the
war
drags
on.
“Together,
we did
what
America
always
does at
our
best,”
Biden
said.
“We led.
We
united
NATO. We
built a
global
coalition.
We stood
against
Putin’s
aggression.
We stood
with the
Ukrainian
people.”
___
Associated
Press
writer
Fatima
Hussein
contributed
to this
report.
___
Follow
AP’s
coverage
of the
State of
the
Union
address
at:
https://apnews.com/hub/state-of-the-union-address
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