WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will use his first address to a joint session of Congress to declare the nation is “turning peril into possibility," celebrating progress against the coronavirus and urging a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that would fundamentally transform roles the government plays in American life.
Biden is marking his first 100 days in office as the nation emerges from a confluence of crises, making his case Wednesday night before a pared-down gathering of mask-wearing legislators because of pandemic restrictions. The speech is taking place in a U.S. Capitol still surrounded by fencing after insurrectionists in January protesting his election stormed to the doors of the House chamber where he will speak.
The nationally televised ritual of a president standing before Congress for the first time will be one of the most watched moments of Biden's presidency, raising the stakes for his ability to sell his plans to voters of both parties, even if Republican lawmakers prove resistant. He is laying out a sweeping proposal for universal preschool, two years of free community college, $225 billion for child care and monthly payments of at least $250 to parents. His ideas target frailties that were uncovered by the pandemic, and he will make the case that economic growth would best come from taxing the rich to help the middle class and the poor.
“I can report to the nation: America is on the move again,” Biden was to say, according to excerpts released by the White House ahead of the speech. “Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength.”
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