President Biden lays groundwork for future in State of the Union Address
Written by Ben Howell on February 8, 2023
Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, President Joe Biden delivered the annual State of the Union address to a joint-session of Congress.
President Biden began his address by congratulating House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on his election. He then congratulated Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as well as the 118th Congress of the United States of America. The address also began with an offer by President Biden to reach a consensus with Republicans.
“To my republican friends, if we could work together in the last congress there is no reason we can’t work together and find consensus on important things in this congress as well,” said President Biden.
President Biden focused his speech on the achievements of his administration in the past year. Including the Chips and Science Act, the Build Back Better Act and capping the price of Insulin at $35 for senior citizens on Medicare.
Shifting his focus to today’s political climate, President Biden addressed proposals from GOP members Jason Smith of Missouri, Buddy Carter of Georgia and Steve Scalise of Louisiana to eliminate the Social Security and Medicare programs. However, the president did not name them in his response. As the he addressed the proposal, he was met with boos and shouts of “Liar” from the GOP on his left side of the chamber after he accused some members of wanting the programs to “see the sunset”.
He retorted “Anybody who doubts it, contact my office. I’ll give you a copy of the proposal.”
President Biden continued with his address and spoke on key matters of the repeal of Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade and he mentioned if congress passed a national ban he would veto it. He followed by urging congress to pass the Equality Act. His address covered other key matters to his administration and his party, including taxes on corporations, the climate crisis, prescription drug costs as well as a federal assault weapons ban.
The President’s guests included Brandon Tsay, the young man who stopped the active shooter of the Monterey Park shooting, and RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, the parents of Tyre Nichols, who was killed by Memphis Police in January.
The President’s address was met with praise and criticism by members of congress after House and Senate members left the chambers. Member of the GOP from Georgia’s 14th district, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to voice her opinion.
The Representative from Georgia called President Biden a liar
Shortly after the address aired, the GOP rebuttal was delivered by the Governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Her rebuttal focused on the GOP’s view of President Biden’s administration as weak and reminding voters of republican values in politics. Contrary to the president’s account of the record low unemployment rate and recovering economy, Gov. Sanders said that the president and his party “destroyed” every achievement of the Trump Administration which they inherited.
The Governor notably said in her rebuttal, “Make no mistake, Republicans will not surrender this fight. We will lead with courage and do what is right. We will hold the Biden administration accountable.”
