'On the move': Biden urges Congress to turn 'crisis' into 'opportunity'

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden painted a nation on the mend, recovering from the pandemic but still in need of a boost from the federal government, in his first address to Congress on Wednesday as he seeks to shift his focus beyond the coronavirus pandemic nearly 100 days into his administration.

Biden said he was there to speak to Congress not just of "crisis" but of "opportunity," pitching $4 trillion of ambitious investments in the American economy and social safety-net programs that he argued were necessary to compete on the global stage and would reduce deficits in the long run.

"Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation: America is on the move again," Biden said.

"We’re in a great inflection point in history. We have to do more than just build back. We have to build back better," Biden continued, echoing his campaign slogan.

Biden unveiled his American Families Plan, a roughly $1.8 trillion package that includes universal preschool, two years of free community college and expanded access to child care. It is the second phase of Biden's two-part push to boost the economy, following the $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs package, which he announced last month.

Biden said he would ask corporations and the wealthiest Americans to "pay their fair share" in order to fund his economic agenda, arguing that the pandemic put a spotlight on inequality in the country as millions of people lost their jobs while CEO salaries continued to increase and billionaires saw their net worths rise.

"My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has never worked," Biden said, promising not to raise taxes on those making less than $400,000 a year. "It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle-out."

"When you hear someone say that they don’t want to raise taxes on the wealthiest 1 percent and on corporate America, ask them: Whose taxes are you going to raise instead, and whose are you going to cut?," he added.

Biden, who campaigned in part on a promise to restore public trust in government, touted the American Rescue plan, vaccination rollouts and his economic proposals as proof of a functioning democracy, adding that autocracies around the globe, including China, were betting that the U.S. would be too divided to pass his sweeping agenda.

"Can our democracy deliver on the most pressing needs of our people? Can our democracy overcome the lies, anger, hate and fears that have pulled us apart?," Biden said.

"It’s time we remembered that 'We the People' are the government. You and I. Not some force in a distant capital. Not some powerful force we have no control over."

The joint address typically takes place within a president’s first few weeks in office, but was delayed until the end of April this year as the White House navigated logistical hurdles due the pandemic.

Ultimately only around 200 people were allowed in the House chamber for the speech, far fewer than the usual 1,600 attendees. Attendees sat socially distanced and were required to wear masks.

Wednesday also marked the first time in U.S. history that two women — Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — were seated behind the president during an address to Congress. Biden acknowledged the historic moment as he took the podium, saying "it’s about time."

Biden's speech is a new stage of legislative challenges for the president. Democrats passed his $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package without Republican support, and now must decide what to do with his newest round of requests.

Biden already faces opposition from Republican lawmakers and some moderate Democrats over his proposal to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to fund his proposed programs. With an evenly divided Senate and a thin majority in the House, Biden faces an uphill battle in Congress.

While his speech largely focused on his economic proposals, Biden also ran through a number of other legislative items including a $15 minimum wage, voting rights, gun reform, immigration reform and lowering prescription drug costs, gently encouraging Republicans to work with him to address these issues.

Biden faced pressure from some liberals to throw more of his political capital behind some of these items, but he has made clear that his focus is on his massive economic proposals and a goal to sign the first piece by the end of summer.

Biden pushed Congress to address the costs of prescription drugs — but notably left the proposal out of his American Families Plan.

"I don't want to become confrontational, but we need more Senate Republicans to join the overwhelming majority of Democratic colleagues and close the loopholes required in background check purchases of guns," Biden said.

Biden also used his speech — which is not called a State of the Union address because it is an inauguration year — to call on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act by the anniversary of Floyd's murder next month, setting a deadline for the first time.

Delivering the Republican response to Biden's address, Sen. Tim Scott, of South Carolina — the only Black GOP senator — said that, "America is not a racist country" and, similarly to Biden, urged the country to come together.

"We are not adversaries," Scott said. "We are family."