Before we get started, what even is the State of the Union address?
The State of the Union address is the president’s annual speech in front of Congress. It normally includes the president’s view on the overall state of the nation, as well as their legislative goals for the year. Some presidents also use this as a time to showcase their administration’s accomplishments thus far.
Recap
During his speech, President Joe Biden highlighted his goal of bipartisanship moving forward, hoping to work together with Republicans to implement policies that benefit the American people. While Biden covered a variety of topics, he mainly focused on health care and the economy, dedicating the largest amount of time to these subjects. Biden also made a concerted effort to connect with the average American through highly specific legislative goals— like eliminating “junk fees”— that people will feel more direct impacts of. This is likely in an attempt to increase his approval ratings, which are at a dismal 41 percent, as a majority of voters believe that Biden has accomplished little throughout his presidency, despite the passage of various large, historic pieces of legislation. Additionally, Biden mentioned his administration’s accomplishments at several points throughout the speech. GOP disapproval is seemingly high, with a few Republican members of Congress booing, yelling at, and interrupting Biden during his address. However, his energetic responses and quick comebacks to the hecklers have slightly eased some voters’ concerns about Biden’s age.
The Economy: Job Creation, Citizen Expenses, Taxes, National Debt
Americans seem to disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy, with only 36 percent of people saying they approve. These low approval ratings come in spite of high levels of job creation and low unemployment rate under the Biden administration. As mentioned in the address, the Biden administration has created 12 million new jobs in the past two years, with 800,000 of those being new manufacturing jobs. The unemployment rate is at 3.4 percent, a 50 year low, along with near record unemployment for Black and Hispanic workers and 10 million Americans submitting small business applications in the past two years. Inflation is a big issue for Americans, but Biden also pointed out that it is a global problem since the pandemic disrupted supply chains and the Ukraine war disrupted energy and food supplies. While prices are still higher than normal, inflation has fallen every month for the past 6 months, and gas prices are down $1.50 since their peak. Additionally, Biden mentioned plans to increase American manufacturing, an element of both the CHIPS and Science Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, including requiring all federal infrastructure projects to use only American-made products. The legislation has funded 20,000 projects to rebuild highways, bridges, railroads, tunnels, ports, and airports, as well as ensuring access to clean water and high-speed Internet, which has become a necessity. Biden has also signed legislation regarding a minimum tax rate of 15% for billionaires, which he criticized as being less than a nurse pays and encouraged legislation to increase this rate. “…in 2020, 55 of the largest corporations in America, the Fortune 500, made $40 billion in profits and paid zero in federal taxes. Zero,” Biden said during the address. Biden has also focused on decreasing the national debt, and has reduced the deficit by $1.7 trillion in the last two years, in addition to signing a law that will reduce the deficit by $114 billion by cracking down on wealthy tax cheats. He compared this to the Trump administration, which added 25 percent of the entire national debt throughout his presidency. Still, Biden has called for collaboration with Republicans when he presents his fiscal plan, offering to work together and hear their ideas. Lastly, the Biden administration has focused on eliminating “junk fees,” which are essentially hidden surcharges that companies use to make consumers pay more. These include ticket service fees, surprise hotel charges, excessive bank overdraft fees and credit card fees.
Health Care: Prescription Costs, Medicare + Social Security, Cancer Research
Health care was a major focus of the 2023 State of the Union address. Biden highlighted the Inflation Reduction Act, aimed at lowering prescription and health care costs, especially as the U.S. pays more for prescription does than any other major nation. This also involves an insulin cap of $35 a month for seniors on Medicare, which is a huge increase from the previous price of $400-500 per month for the lifesaving drug. Biden called for Congress to cap this price for everyone, not just seniors. Additionally, Medicare and Social Security was a controversial topic of discussion. Biden mentioned that some Republicans proposed cutting Medicare and Social Security, which evoked a chorus of boos from Republicans, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene shouting “Liar.” Surprisingly, Biden played into it, having a sense of humor about the heckling and directly engaging with his vocal critics. He noted that he was happy to see the “conversion” and that everyone agreed that Social Security and Medicare won’t be touched. Biden also called for legislation in the realm of mental health resources and protecting reproductive rights. Additionally, he spoke about his Cancer Moonshot initiative, which would prioritize cancer research to develop a cure and advance cancer prevention.
Bipartisanship
At the beginning of the address, Biden started by congratulating the new Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, as well as some long standing Republican members of Congress. Though Biden and McCarthy may have differing political views, they seem to be making an effort to work together. Biden mentioned several pieces of bipartisan legislation that have been passed, such as the Respect for Marriage Act, Electoral Count Reform Act and the ARPA-H drive for cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes research. As mentioned previously, Biden hopes to work with Republicans on the fiscal plan. Biden seemed optimistic about bipartisanship, despite the fact that he was being interrupted, booed, and yelled at by some Republican members of Congress.
Legislative Goals
Biden’s big hopes for legislation include police reform, assault weapons ban, universal free preschool and raise for teachers, immigration reform and veterans job placement and suicide prevention.
In the wake of Tyre Nichols’ tragic death at the hands of law enforcement, Biden called for more training and accountability for law enforcement. He also called for Congress to invest in creating more resources to reduce violent crime, more community intervention programs and more first responders and mental health professionals. Biden also mentioned his executive order for all federal officers, which includes banning chokeholds and restricting no knock warrants.
The prevalence of mass shootings, including both the Chinese Lunar New Year and Robb Elementary School tragedies, has brought the issue of gun control into question. Biden proposed banning assault weapons again, citing evidence that mass shootings went down while the bill was law and then tripled once the bill expired.
Biden asked Congress to pass his border control plan to provide equipment and officers for the border, as well as giving a better pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers and essential workers. This has become important with the rise in fentanyl, which kills more than 70,000 Americans a year. Biden credited his new border plan for reducing unlawful migration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela by 97 percent, as well as leading to the arrest of 8,000 human smugglers and the seizure of over 23,000 pounds of fentanyl.
In the educational realm, Biden pushed for universal free preschool, which leads to improved performance in later schooling. He also requested a raise for public school teachers, which seems to lack bipartisan support, as Republicans stayed seated while Democrats gave a standing ovation for this proposal. He also hopes that Congress will work to reduce student debt.
Biden also pointed out the importance of job training and job placement for veterans, especially given that 17 veterans commit suicide a day. He also would like Congress to pass the Equality Act to further protect the rights of LGBTQ Americans. Lastly, he emphasized that threats to our democracy are not a partisan issue, instead they are an American issue and should be treated as such. Elected officials should protect the right to vote, honor results of elections and condemn hate and political violence.
If you would like to watch the full 2023 State of the Union address, click the link below.