“We meet as Democrats, Republicans and Independents, but most importantly, as Americans, with a duty to one another, to America, to the American people, to the Constitution and with an unwavering resolve that freedom will always trample over tyranny,” said President Biden. On March 1, President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union Address to the United States Congress. Rewatch the address here.
The address is meant to propose recommendations to improve the country based on current events. Leading up to the address, many news outlets anticipated that Biden would speak on the turmoil between Russia and Ukraine as well as the country’s COVID-19 progress.
Biden opened the address by speaking about the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. He commended the Ukrainian people for their bravery in the face of Vladimir Putin’s, Russia’s President’s, actions. In the past week, Russian military forces have launched attacks in parts of Ukraine that the Russian government has claimed are Russian territory. Biden stated that these attacks were “premeditated and totally unprovoked.” He also said that the Russian attacks caused more chaos and hurt than a resolution to the issues between the two nations.
Biden ensured that at this time, the United States (U.S.) military will not be sent to Russia to fight their forces directly. US military forces will only be sent to Europe if Russia attacks countries the U.S. is allied with or if the country tries to expand its borders further West.
To contextualize the actions the U.S. took to prevent the Russian attacks, the President cited that the U.S. worked with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to settle the disputes between Russia and Ukraine. NATO is a coalition between 27 European countries, two North American countries and one Eurasian country that was created after World War II to ensure peace between the member states.
Biden emphasized the transparency the U.S. government had with other countries regarding the information they had about Russia and Putin. He went on to describe the economic sanctions being placed on Russia, in addition to the U.S. seizing luxury items like yachts from the Russian government and closing off the U.S. airspace to Russian aircrafts. He reassured, however, that American businesses and consumers will be protected from the economic sanctions. In regard to Ukraine, the U.S. government has sent billions of dollars of aid to assist in medical care and rebuilding after the Russian attacks.
He closed out his comments about Russia and Ukraine by assuring the American people and Ukrainian-Americans that the U.S. government is doing everything short of military action to stop Russia, ensuring their safety from Russian attacks.
After discussing the affairs in Europe, Biden moved back to the domestic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that two pieces of important legislation have been passed to provide economic relief and cut the cost of healthcare insurance. Biden compared his COVID-19 relief actions to those of the previous administration, stating that he took a more active role in helping the American people recover from such devastation. He congratulated the American people for their perseverance over the last two years with the virus and excitedly announced the new Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines stating that fully vaccinated and boosted people will no longer need to wear masks in or outdoors.
He also mentioned that 6.5 million new jobs were created over the last year as one example of how his work for the American economy and infrastructure will put the U.S. as one of the economic front runners of the 21st century. To fight economic inflation and create more jobs, Biden stressed the need for companies to centralize domestically. He urged that companies create their products here in the U.S. to cut costs of imports and exports, cut the time between manufacturing and getting the products to consumers and create more American jobs. Another method that Biden proposed to fight inflation was for all companies to cut costs for consumers, from energy efficiency companies to childcare.
One point that President Biden made in his address spoke to the Americans who called to defund the police. He said that instead of defunding the police, his new budget looked to “fund [them] with the resources and training they need to protect our community.” The budget will also look to fight illegal gun trafficking and gun violence. Biden called for more extensive background checks for gun purchases to prevent potentially violent consumers from getting a weapon.
Having followed an administration that was very concerned about the U.S.-Mexico border and illegal immigrants, Biden discussed the improved technology to detect drug smuggling over the border. He also promised easier processes for those seeking refuge in the U.S. as well as for farmworkers, essential workers and DREAMers (child immigrants that qualify for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act).
Lastly, President Biden talked about the state of human rights in the US. He assured the safety and protection of women’s medical rights and to always uphold the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. He urged Congress to pass the Bipartisan Equality Act to provide human rights protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and their families, specifically for transgender people. He cited the many attempted legislation in various states that looked to limit the rights of transgender people.
President Biden stated, “The state of the union is strong because you, the American people, are strong. We are stronger today than we were a year ago, and we will be stronger a year from now than we are today.” President Biden’s address was met with resounding applause by Congress throughout his address, especially at its conclusion. Biden’s 2022 State of the Union Address shines a beacon of hope onto the impending future of the United States’ domestic and international affairs.
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