President Joe Biden delivered his first speech to Congress on Wednesday to highlight his achievements on the eve of the first 100 days of his administration.
In just over an hour, Biden sought to explain the importance of his
ambitious investments to rebuild the country's economy
amid the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I can inform the nation: America is on the move again. We are turning danger into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setbacks into strengths," the president said in front of a joint session of Congress marked by social distance.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bump elbows with Vice President Kamala Harris at the joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on April 28, 2021. AFP via Getty Images
Biden introduced his American Family Plan as a central part of his speech, an approximately
$ 1.8 billion
package
that includes universal preschool, two years of
free
community college,
and increased access to child care.
It's the second of two phases in Biden's effort to boost the economy, following the $ 2 trillion jobs and infrastructure package he announced last month.
Biden spoke directly to Americans who "feel abandoned and forgotten in a rapidly changing economy," and
argued that his economic proposals will create millions of jobs that do not require a college degree.
Biden highlights the economic stimulus plan in his first 100 days in office
April 29, 202102: 44
The president highlighted one of the benefits of his American Rescue Plan, which is its
specific focus on childhood poverty and hunger.
"Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we are on track to reduce child poverty in America by the middle of this year," he said.
[Biden's First 100 Days: Accomplished more than many, but these critical promises on immigration, economics and COVID-19 remain unfulfilled]
His coronavirus pandemic relief bill restructured the child tax credit (up to $ 3,600 per child) to give low-income families a boost.
The Biden Administration also announced earlier this month that it
will launch a summer feeding program to feed more than 30 million low-income children.
A historical image
Biden recognized at the beginning of his speech how historic it was that behind him were two women, Vice President Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Never before in history have two women held these positions.
President Joe Biden delivers his first address to both houses of Congress.
AP
Despite the support of both houses of the legislature as a Democrat (albeit narrowly in the Senate), the president still faces uphill battles to deliver on his promises.
One of them is on immigration.
A new call for immigration reform
Biden once again insisted that Congress approve the immigration reform he sent him or that they agree and build and pass a bipartisan reform of their own.
Or, if necessary, have the protections sought for different immigrant groups approved separately.
"Congress needs to pass a law this year to finally
ensure the protection of Dreamers,
the young people whose only home is the United States," Biden said.
An immigration reform, Biden's debt in his first 100 days in office
April 28, 202102: 17
In addition, the president called for "
permanent protections for immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
who come from countries ravaged by violence and natural and man-made disasters."
This is part of his efforts to
restore a program to help the northern triangle countries, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala,
to attack the causes of immigration, and he reiterated Harris's leadership in that diplomatic effort.
Biden also called for Congress to find a way to give "
a path to citizenship for farm workers
who put food on our tables. Immigrants have done a lot for America during the pandemic, just as they have done. throughout our history, "he said.
President Joe Biden delivers his first address in a joint session with social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) to Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 28, 2021.Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS
Reduce the cost of medicine
Biden also asked Congress to lower the cost of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices, something that was not in his latest proposal, the 'Plan for American Families'.
"We all know how outrageously expensive they are," he said.
"In fact,
we pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world right here in the United States, almost three times more than in other countries
."
"Let's give Medicare the power to save hundreds of billions of dollars by negotiating lower prices for prescription drugs ... We've talked about it for quite some time: Democrats and Republicans. Let's do it this year," he added.
Republicans did not applaud or cheer during this part of Biden's speech.
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April 27, 202100: 52
Raise the taxes of the richest
They also didn't applaud when
Biden reiterated his commitment to raising taxes on the rich to pay for his plan
to guide economic recovery.
"Look, I don't mean to punish anyone. But I'm
not going to increase the tax burden on the middle class of this country
," Biden said.
"They are already paying enough."
The president assured that his Administration will work to get rid of the tax loopholes that allow those who earn more than 1 million dollars a year to pay a lower rate on their earnings and use the Tax Collection Service (IRS for its acronym in English) to
take action against millionaires and billionaires who cheat on their taxes,
among other measures.
With information from NBC News.