WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Joe Biden will deliver his first joint speech to Congress Wednesday, where he is set to unveil a sweeping $1.8 trillion package for families and education, plead for police reform and lay out other foreign and domestic policy priorities.
The prime-time speech Wednesday has been timed to mark his 100th day in office later this week but the address will not resemble past presidential speeches to Congress, with attendance limited because of the pandemic.
NewsNation will carry President Biden's full speech and the Republican response from Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), plus provide unbiased analysis beginning 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
Biden will argue that the new families package – which together with an earlier infrastructure and jobs plan totals around $4 trillion, rivaling the annual federal budget – is a once-in-a-generation investment vital to America's future.
The American Families Plan includes $1 trillion in spending on education and child care over 10 years and $800 billion in tax credits aimed at middle and low income families, according to a White House fact sheet released Wednesday morning.
The address will also give Biden the opportunity to further promote his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan which would focus on four main hard infrastructure categories — transportation; public water, health and broadband systems; community care for seniors; and innovation research and development.
Republican lawmakers in Congress so far have balked at the price tag of both the “families” plan and infrastructure package, complicating the chances of passage in a divided Washington.
A group of Senate Republicans last week unveiled a public works proposal with a much smaller price tag and a narrower definition of infrastructure than Biden's. The price of the Republican proposal came in at $568 billion over five years, compared to the $2.3 trillion that Biden has called for spending over eight years.
The spending plans "reinvest in the future of the American economy and American workers, and will help us out-compete China and other countries around the world," the White House said ahead of the address.
To pay for the plans, Biden has proposed an overhaul of the tax system. The American Families Plan is funded by raising the top marginal tax rate to 39.6 percent for the wealthiest Americans. It nearly doubles the tax on investment income – known as capital gains – for Americans who earn more than $1 million. The proposed infrastructure plan is funded by corporate tax.
The 2017 GOP tax bill, which all the Republicans voted for, slashed the corporate rate from 35% to 21%. Biden's proposals would undo the bill. Republicans have signaled zero interest in undoing the tax cuts they approved with former President Donald Trump. Biden has previously said he is willing to compromise on the infrastructure package but is not open to "doing nothing."
Biden will also plead directly with lawmakers to pass legislation to curb police violence, senior administration officials said. Biden is expected to use his address to touch on the national reckoning over race in America, and to call on Congress to act on policing reform, gun control and modernizing the nation’s immigration system.
In addition to police reform, Biden will discuss foreign affairs, how his administration has handled the coronavirus pandemic and the status of vaccinations.
One senior congressional aide said Biden is expected to "come out hard on China," noting frequent calls to take a harder line against Beijing from both Republicans and Democrats.
Biden is also expected to discuss the start of a potentially booming recovery, one that could determine whether the economy can once again fire on all cylinders after a pandemic and a subsequent financial crisis with shock waves that linger a dozen years later.
Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the chamber and a leading voice on police reform, will deliver his party’s response to President Biden’s address to Congress.
“We face serious challenges on multiple fronts, but I am as confident as I have ever been in the promise and potential of America,” Scott, 55, said in a statement. “I look forward to having an honest conversation with the American people and sharing Republicans’ optimistic vision.”
This story will be updated throughout President Biden's address and Sen. Scott's response.
Reporting by Reuters' Nandita Bose, Jarrett Renshaw, Trevor Hunnicutt and AP's Darlene Superville. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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