[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 28, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2117-H2124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2036
JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS PURSUANT TO HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 30 TO 
                  RECEIVE A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

  The recess having expired, the House was called to order by the 
Speaker at 8 o'clock and 36 minutes p.m.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms, Ms. Kathleen Joyce, announced 
the Vice President and Members of the U.S. Senate, who entered the Hall 
of the House of Representatives, the Vice President taking the chair at 
the right of the Speaker, and the Members of the Senate the seats 
reserved for them.
  The SPEAKER. The joint session will come to order.

[[Page H2118]]

  The Chair appoints as members of the committee on the part of the 
House to escort the President of the United States into the Chamber:
  The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer);
  The gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn);
  The gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark);
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Aguilar);
  The gentlewoman from Delaware (Ms. Blunt Rochester);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy);
  The gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney);
  The gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole);
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady);
  The gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens); and
  The gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).
  The VICE PRESIDENT. The President of the Senate, at the direction of 
that body, appoints the following Senators as members of the committee 
on the part of the Senate to escort the President of the United States 
into the House Chamber:
  The Senator from New York (Mr. Schumer);
  The Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy);
  The Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin);
  The Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow);
  The Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders);
  The Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar);
  The Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell);
  The Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Thune);
  The Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso);
  The Senator from Iowa (Ms. Ernst);
  The Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt); and
  The Senator from Florida (Mr. Scott).
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Dean of the 
Diplomatic Corps, His Excellency Hersey Kyota, the Ambassador of the 
Republic of Palau.
  The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps entered the Hall of the House of 
Representatives and took the seat reserved for him.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Chief Justice of 
the United States of the Supreme Court.
  The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court entered the Hall 
of the House of Representatives and took the seat reserved for him in 
front of the Speaker's rostrum.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Cabinet of the 
President of the United States.
  The members of the Cabinet of the President of the United States 
entered the Hall of the House of Representatives and took the seats 
reserved for them in front of the Speaker's rostrum.
  At 9 o'clock and 4 minutes p.m., the Sergeant at Arms, the Honorable 
William J. Walker, announced the President of the United States.
  The President of the United States, escorted by the committee of 
Senators and Representatives, entered the Hall of the House of 
Representatives and stood at the Clerk's desk.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  The SPEAKER. Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and the 
distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  The PRESIDENT. It is good to be back. Mitch and Chuck will understand 
that it is good to be almost home, down the hall.
  Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President--no President has ever said those 
words from this podium; no President has ever said those words, and it 
is about time--the First Lady--I am her husband--the Second Gentleman, 
Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress and the 
Cabinet, and distinguished guests, my fellow Americans:
  While the setting tonight is familiar, this gathering is just a 
little bit different, a reminder of the extraordinary times we are in.
  Throughout our history, Presidents have come to this Chamber to speak 
to Congress, to the Nation, and to the world to declare war, to 
celebrate peace, to announce new plans and possibilities.
  Tonight, I come to talk about crisis and opportunity, about 
rebuilding our Nation and revitalizing our democracy, and winning the 
future for America.
  I stand here tonight 1 day shy of the 100th day of my administration, 
100 days since I took the oath of office, lifted my hand off our family 
Bible, and inherited a nation--we all did--that was in crisis: the 
worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great 
Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.
  Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the Nation: America is on 
the move again, turning peril into possibility, crisis into 
opportunity, setback into strength.
  We all know life can knock us down. But in America, we never stay 
down. Americans always get up.
  And today, that is what we are doing: America is rising anew, 
choosing hope over fear, truth over lies, light over darkness.
  After 100 days of rescue and renewal, America is ready for takeoff, 
in my view.
  We are working again, dreaming again, discovering again, leading the 
world again.
  We have shown each other and the world there is no quit in America; 
none.
  One hundred days ago, America's house was on fire. We had to act. And 
thanks to the extraordinary leadership of Speaker Pelosi and Majority 
Leader Schumer, and with the overwhelming support of the American 
people--Democrats, Independents, and Republicans--we did act.
  Together, we passed the American Rescue Plan, one of the most 
consequential rescue packages in American history.
  We are already seeing the results. After I promised we would get 100 
million COVID-19 vaccine shots into people's arms in 100 days, we will 
have provided over 220 million COVID shots in those 100 days; thanks to 
all the help of all of you.
  We are marshalling--with your help, everyone's help, we are 
marshalling every Federal resource. We have gotten vaccines to nearly 
40,000 pharmacies and over 700 community health centers, where the 
poorest of the poor can be reached. We are setting up community 
vaccination sites, deploying mobile units to get the hard-to-reach 
communities.
  Today, 90 percent of Americans now live within 5 miles of a 
vaccination site. Everyone over the age of 16--everyone--is now 
eligible to get vaccinated right now, right away.
  Go get vaccinated, America. Go and get the vaccination. They are 
available. You are eligible now.
  When I was sworn in on January 20, less than 1 percent of the seniors 
in America were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. One hundred days 
later, 70 percent of seniors over 65 in America are protected--fully 
protected. Senior deaths from COVID-19 are down 80 percent since 
January--down 80 percent because of all of you. And more than half of 
all the adults in America have gotten at least one shot.
  At a mass vaccination center in Glendale, Arizona, I asked the nurse: 
``What is it like?''
  She looked at me and said every shot is like giving a ``dose of 
hope,'' was her phrase; ``a dose of hope.''
  A dose of hope for the educator in Florida, who has a child suffering 
from an autoimmune disease. She wrote to me that she was worried about 
bringing the virus home. She said she then got vaccinated at a large 
site in her car. She said she sat in her car when she got vaccinated 
and just cried--cried out of joy and cried out of relief.
  Parents are seeing the smiles on their kids' faces, for those who are 
able to go back to school, because the teachers and school bus drivers 
and cafeteria workers have been vaccinated. Grandparents hugging their 
children and grandchildren instead of pressing hands against the window 
to say good-bye. It means everything. Those things mean everything.
  There is still--you all know it--you know it better than any group of 
Americans--there is still more work to do to beat this virus. We can't 
let our guard down. But, tonight, I can say because of you, the 
American people, our

[[Page H2119]]

progress these past 100 days against one of the worst pandemics in 
history has been one of the greatest logistical achievements this 
country has ever seen.
  What else have we done in those first 100 days?
  We kept our commitment--Democrats and Republicans--of sending $1,400 
rescue checks to 85 percent of American households. We already sent 
more than 160 million checks out the door. It is making a difference. 
You all know it when you go home. For many people, it is making all the 
difference in the world.
  A single mom in Texas wrote to me. She said she couldn't work. But 
she said the relief check put food on the table and saved her and her 
son from eviction from their apartment.
  A grandmother in Virginia, who told me she immediately took her 
granddaughter to the eye doctor--something she said she put off for 
months because she didn't have the money.
  One of the defining images, at least from my perspective, in this 
crisis has been cars lined up for miles--and not people just barely 
able to start those cars; nice cars--waiting for a box of food to be 
put in their trunk.
  I don't know about you, but I didn't ever think I would see that in 
America. And all of this is through no fault of their own--no fault of 
their own, these people are in this position. That is why the American 
Rescue Plan is delivering food and nutrition assistance to millions of 
Americans facing hunger, and hunger is down sharply already.
  We are also providing rental assistance--you all know this, but the 
American people, I want to make sure they understand--keeping people 
from being evicted from their homes, providing loans so small 
businesses could reopen and keep their employees on the job.
  During these 100 days, an additional 800,000 Americans enrolled in 
the Affordable Care Act when I established a special sign-up period to 
do that--800,000 in that period. We are making one of the largest one-
time investments ever in improving healthcare for veterans; critical 
investments to address the opioid crisis. And, maybe most importantly, 
thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we are on track to cut child 
poverty in America in half this year.
  In the process, while this is all going on, the economy created more 
than 1.3 million new jobs in 100 days; more jobs in the first 100 days 
than any President on record. The International Monetary Fund is now 
estimating our economy will grow at a rate of more than 6 percent this 
year. That would be the fastest pace of economic growth in this country 
in nearly four decades.
  America is moving, moving forward. But we can't stop now. We are in 
competition with China and other countries to win the 21st century. We 
are at a great inflection point in history. We have to do more than 
just build back. We have to build back better. We have to compete more 
strenuously than we have.
  Throughout our history--think about it--public investment and 
infrastructure have literally transformed America--our attitudes, as 
well as our opportunities. The transcontinental railroad and the 
interstate highways united two oceans and brought a totally new age of 
progress to the United States of America. Universal public schools and 
college aid opened wide the doors of opportunity. Scientific 
breakthroughs took us to the Moon and now to Mars, discovered vaccines, 
gave us the internet, and so much more.
  These are the investments we made together as one country, and 
investments that only the government was in a position to make. Time 
and again, they propel us into the future. That is why I proposed the 
American Jobs Plan, a once-in-a-generation investment in America 
itself. This is the largest jobs plan since World War II. It creates 
jobs to upgrade our transportation infrastructure; jobs modernizing our 
roads, bridges, highways; jobs building ports and airports, rail 
corridors, transit lines. It is clean water.

  And, today, up to 10 million homes in America and more than 400,000 
schools and childcare centers have pipes with lead in them, including 
for drinking water--a clear and present danger to our children's 
health.
  The American Jobs Plan creates jobs replacing 100 percent of the 
Nation's lead pipes and service lines so every American can drink clean 
water. And, in the process, it will create thousands and thousands of 
good-paying jobs. It creates jobs connecting every American with high-
speed internet, including 35 percent of rural America that still 
doesn't have it. It is going to help our kids and our businesses 
succeed in the 21st century economy.
  I am asking the Vice President to lead this effort, if she would, 
because I know it will get done.
  It creates jobs by building a modern power grid. Our grids are 
vulnerable to storms, hacks, catastrophic failures, with tragic 
results, as we saw in Texas and elsewhere during the winter storms.
  The American Jobs Plan will create jobs to lay thousands of miles of 
transmission lines needed to build a resilient and fully clean grid. We 
can do that.
  Look, the American Jobs Plan will help millions of people get back to 
their jobs and back to their careers. Two million women have dropped 
out of the workforce during this pandemic, 2 million, and too often 
because they couldn't get the care they needed to care for their child, 
or care for an elderly parent who needs help.
  800,000 families are on a Medicare waiting list right now to get home 
care for their aging parent or loved one with a disability. If you 
think it is not important, check out in your own district, Democrat or 
Republican, Democrat or Republican voters. Their great concern, almost 
as much as the children, is taking care of an elderly loved one who 
can't be left alone. Medicaid contemplated it, but this plan is going 
to help those families and create jobs for our caregivers with better 
wages and better benefits, continuing the cycle of growth.
  For too long we have failed to use the most important word when it 
comes to meeting the climate crisis: Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. For me, when I 
think climate change, I think jobs. The American Jobs Plan will put 
engineers and construction workers to work building more energy-
efficient buildings and homes, electrical workers, IBEW members, 
installing 500,000 charging stations along our highways, so we can own 
the electric car market. Farmers; farmers planting cover crops so they 
can reduce the carbon dioxide in the air and get paid for doing it.
  Look, think about it. There is simply no reason why the blades for 
wind turbines can't be built in Pittsburgh instead of Beijing. No 
reason. None. No reason. So, folks, there is no reason why American 
workers can't lead the world in the production of electric vehicles and 
batteries. I mean, there is no reason. We have the capacity. We have 
the brightest, best-trained people in the world.
  The American Jobs Plan is going to create millions of good-paying 
jobs, jobs Americans can raise a family on, as my dad would then say, 
with a little breathing room. And all the investments in the American 
Jobs Plan will be guided by one principle: Buy American. Buy American. 
And I might note parenthetically, that does not violate any trade 
agreement. It has been the law since the 1930s. Buy American. American 
tax dollars are going to be used to buy American products made in 
America to create American jobs. That is the way it is supposed to be, 
and it will be in this administration. And I made it clear to all my 
Cabinet people. Their ability to give exemptions has been strenuously 
limited. It will be American products.
  Now, I know some of you at home are wondering whether these jobs are 
for you. So many of you, so many of the folks I grew up with, feel left 
behind, forgotten, and our economy is so rapidly changing. It is 
frightening. I want to speak directly to you, because you think about 
it. That is what people are most worried about: Can I fit in?
  Independent experts estimate the American Jobs Plan will add millions 
of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic growth in the years to 
come. It is an 8-year program. These are good-paying jobs that can't be 
outsourced. Nearly 90 percent of the infrastructure jobs created in the 
American Jobs Plan do not require a college degree. 75 percent don't 
require an Associate's degree. The American Jobs Plan is a blue-collar 
blueprint to build America. That is what it is.
  And it recognizes something I have always said in this Chamber and 
the

[[Page H2120]]

other. Good guys and women are on Wall Street, but Wall Street didn't 
build this country; the middle class built the country, and unions 
built the middle class. So that is why I am calling on Congress to pass 
the Protect the Right to Organize Act, the PRO Act, and send it to my 
desk so we can support the right to unionize.
  And, by the way, while you are thinking about sending things to my 
desk, let's raise the minimum wage to $15. No one, no one working 40 
hours a week, no one working 40 hours a week should live below the 
poverty line. We need to ensure greater equity and opportunity for 
women. And while we are doing this, let's get the Paycheck Fairness Act 
to my desk as well. Equal pay. It has been much too long. And if you 
wonder whether it has been too long, look behind me.
  And, finally, the American Jobs Plan will be the biggest increase in 
non-defense research and development on record. We will see more 
technological change, and some of you know more about this than I do. 
We will see more technological change in the next 10 years than we saw 
in the last 50. That is how rapidly artificial intelligence and so much 
more is changing. And we are falling behind the competition with the 
rest of the world.
  Decades ago, we used to invest 2 percent of our gross domestic 
product in America, 2 percent of our gross domestic product in research 
and development. Today, Mr. Secretary, that is less than 1 percent. 
China and other countries are closing in fast.
  We have to develop and dominate the products and technologies of the 
future; advanced batteries, biotechnology, computer chips, clean 
energy. The Secretary of Defense can tell you, and those of you who 
work on national security issues know, the Defense Department has an 
agency called DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, the 
people who set up before I came here, and that has been a long time 
ago, to develop breakthroughs that enhance our national security. That 
is their only job, and it is a semi-separate agency. It is part of the 
Defense Department. It has led to everything from the discovery of the 
internet to GPS and so much more. It has enhanced our security.
  The National Institutes of Health, the NIH, I believe, should create 
a similar advanced research projects agency for health, and here is 
what it would do. It would have a singular purpose: To develop 
breakthroughs to prevent, detect, and treat diseases like Alzheimer's, 
diabetes, and cancer.
  I will still never forget when we passed the cancer proposal in the 
last year I was Vice President, almost $9 million going to NIH. And if 
you excuse the point of personal privilege, I will never forget you 
standing, Mitch, and saying to name it after my deceased son.
  It meant a lot. So many of us have deceased sons, daughters, and 
relatives who died of cancer. I can think of no more worthy investment. 
I know of nothing that is more bipartisan. So let's end cancer as we 
know it. It is within our power. It is within our power to do it.
  Investments in jobs and infrastructure like the ones we are talking 
about have often had bipartisan support in the past. Vice President 
Harris and I met regularly in the Oval Office with Democrats and 
Republicans to discuss the American Jobs Plan. I applaud the group of 
Republican Senators who just put forward their own proposal. So let's 
get to work.
  I wanted to lay out before the Congress my plan before we got into 
deep discussions. I like to meet with those who have ideas that are 
different, that are better. I welcome those ideas, but the rest of the 
world is not waiting for us. I just want to be clear. From my 
perspective, doing nothing is not an option.
  Look, we can't be so busy competing with one another that we forget 
the competition that we have with the rest of the world to win the 21st 
century.
  Secretary Blinken can tell you, I spent a lot of time with President 
Xi. I traveled over 17,000 miles with him. I spent over 24 hours in 
private discussions with him. When he called to congratulate me, we had 
a 2-hour discussion. He is deadly earnest about becoming the most 
significant, consequential nation in the world. He and others, 
autocrats, think that democracy can't compete in the 21st century with 
autocracies because it takes too long to get a consensus.
  To win that competition for the future, in my view, we also need to 
make a once-in-a-generation investment in our families and our 
children. That is why I have introduced the American Families Plan 
tonight, which addresses four of the biggest challenges facing American 
families and, in turn, America.
  The first is access to good education. When this Nation made 12 years 
of public education universal in the last century, it made us the best-
educated, best-prepared Nation in the world. I believe it is the 
overwhelming reason that propelled us to where we got in the 20th 
century, but the world has caught up, or catching up. They are not 
waiting.
  I would say, parenthetically, if we were sitting down, if we have set 
a bipartisan committee together and said, okay, we are going to decide 
what we do in terms of the government providing for free education, I 
wonder whether we would think, as we did in the 20th century, that 12 
years is enough in the 21st century. I doubt it. Twelve years is no 
longer enough today to compete with the rest of the world in the 21st 
century. That is why my American Families Plan guarantees an additional 
4 years of public education for every person in America, starting as 
early as we can.
  The great universities in this country have conducted studies over 
the last 10 years. They show that adding 2 years of universal, high-
quality preschool for every 3-year-old and 4-year-old, no matter what 
background they come from, puts them in the position to be able to 
compete all the way through 12 years, and increases exponentially their 
prospect of graduating and going beyond graduation.
  Research shows when a young child goes to school, not daycare, they 
are far more likely to graduate from high school and go to college, or 
something after high school. When you add 2 years of free community 
college on top of that, you begin to change the dynamic. We can do 
that.
  And we will increase Pell grants and invest in historically Black 
colleges and universities, Tribal colleges, minority-serving 
institutions. The reason is, they don't have the endowments, but their 
students are just as capable of learning about cybersecurity, just as 
capable of learning about metallurgy, all the things that provide those 
jobs of the future.
  Jill is a community college professor who teaches today as First 
Lady. If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times. She 
has long said that, Joe, any country that out-educates us is going to 
outcompete us. She will be deeply involved in leading this effort.
  Thank you, Jill.
  The second thing is, the American Families Plan will provide access 
to quality, affordable childcare. I am proposing legislation. We 
guarantee that low- and middle-income families will pay no more than 7 
percent of their income for high-quality care for children up to the 
age of 5. The most hard-pressed working families won't have to spend a 
dime.
  Third, the American Families Plan will finally provide up to 12 weeks 
of paid leave and medical leave, family medical leave. We are one of 
the few industrial countries in the world. No one should have to choose 
between a job and a paycheck, or taking care of themselves and their 
loved ones, or parent, or spouse, or child.
  Fourth, the American Families Plan puts money directly into the 
pockets of millions of Americans. In March, we expanded a tax credit 
for every child in the family, up to $3,000 per child over 6 years of 
age, and $3,600 for children under 6 years of age. With two parents, 
two kids, that is $7,200 in the pockets to help take care of your 
family. That will help more than 65 million children, and help cut 
childcare poverty in half. We can afford it. So we did that in the last 
piece of legislation we passed, but let's extend that childcare tax 
credit at least through the end of 2025.
  The American Rescue Plan lowered healthcare premiums for 9 million 
Americans who buy their coverage under the Affordable Care Act. I know 
that is really popular on this side of the aisle, but let's make that 
provision permanent so their premiums don't go back up.
  In addition to my American Families Plan, I am going to work with 
Congress

[[Page H2121]]

this year to address other critical priorities for American families.
  The Affordable Care Act has been a lifeline for millions of 
Americans, protecting people with preexisting conditions and protecting 
women's health. And the pandemic has demonstrated how badly it is 
needed.
  Let's lower deductibles for working families on the Affordable Care 
Act, and let's lower prescription drug costs. We know how to do this. 
The last President had that as his objective.
  We all know how outrageously expensive drugs are in America. In fact, 
we pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world right here in 
America. We pay nearly three times for the same drug as what other 
countries pay. We have to change that, and we can.
  Let's do what we have talked about for all the years I was down here 
in this body, in Congress. Let's give Medicare the power to save 
hundreds of billions of dollars by negotiating lower prescription drug 
prices.
  By the way, that won't just help people on Medicare. It will lower 
prescription drug costs for everyone. And the money we save, which is 
billions of dollars, can go to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and 
expand Medicare coverage and benefits without costing taxpayers an 
additional penny.
  It is within our power to do it. Let's do it now. We have talked 
about it long enough, Democrats and Republicans. Let's get it done this 
year.
  This is all about a simple premise: Healthcare should be a right, not 
a privilege, in America.
  So, how do we pay for my Jobs and Family Plans? I have made it clear 
that we can do it without increasing deficits.
  Let's start with what I will not do. I will not impose any tax 
increases on people making less than $400,000 a year. It is time for 
corporate America and the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans to begin to 
pay their fair share--just pay their fair share.
  Sometimes, I have arguments with my friends in the Democratic Party. 
I think you should be able to become a billionaire and a millionaire 
but pay your fair share. A recent study shows that 55 of the Nation's 
biggest corporations paid zero Federal income tax last year. Those 55 
corporations made in excess of $40 billion in profits.
  A lot of companies also evade taxes through tax havens from 
Switzerland to Bermuda to the Cayman Islands, and they benefit from tax 
loopholes and deductions that allow for offshoring jobs and shifting 
profits overseas.
  That is not right.
  We are going to reform corporate taxes so they pay their fair share 
and help pay for the public investments their businesses will benefit 
from as well.
  We are going to reward work, not just wealth. We take the top tax 
bracket for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, those making over 
$400,000 or more, back up to where it was when George W. Bush was 
President, when he started, 39.6 percent. That is where it was when 
George W. Bush was President.
  We are going to get rid of the loopholes that allow Americans who 
make more than $1 million a year to pay a lower rate on their capital 
gains than working Americans who receive a paycheck. We are only going 
to affect three-tenths of 1 percent of all Americans by that action.
  And the IRS is going to crack down on millionaires and billionaires 
who cheat on their taxes. That is estimated to be billions of dollars 
by think tanks from the left, right, and center.
  I am not looking to punish anybody, but I will not add an additional 
tax burden to the middle class in this country. They are already paying 
enough.
  I believe what I have proposed is fair. It is fiscally responsible. 
It raises the revenue to pay for the plans I have proposed that will 
create millions of jobs that will grow the economy and enhance our 
financial standing of the country.
  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?
  Look at the big tax cut in 2017. Remember, it was supposed to pay for 
itself--that was how it was sold--and generate vast economic growth. 
Instead, it added $2 trillion to the deficit. It was a huge windfall 
for corporate America and those at the very top. Instead of using the 
tax savings to raise wages and invest in research and development, it 
poured billions of dollars into the pockets of CEOs.
  In fact, the pay gap between CEOs and their workers is now among the 
largest in history. According to one study, CEOs make 320 times what 
their average workers make. It used to be below 100.
  The pandemic has only made things worse. Twenty million Americans 
lost their jobs in the pandemic--working- and middle-class Americans. 
At the same time, the roughly 650 billionaires in America saw their net 
worth increase by more than $1 trillion in the same exact period. Let 
me say that again: Just 650 people increased their wealth by more than 
$1 trillion during this pandemic. And they are now worth more than $4 
trillion.
  My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has never worked. It is 
time to grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
  A broad consensus of economists left, right, and center agree that 
what I am proposing will help create millions of jobs and generate 
historic economic growth. These are among the highest value investments 
we can make as a nation.
  I have often said that our greatest strength is the power of our 
example, not just the example of our power. In my conversations with 
world leaders, and I have spoken to over 38 or 40 of them now, I have 
made it known that America is back. The comment I hear most often from 
them is: We see America is back, but for how long?
  My fellow Americans, we have to show not just that we are back but 
that we are here to stay and that we aren't going to go it alone. We 
are going to do it by leading with our allies.
  No one nation can deal with all the crises of our time alone, from 
terrorism to nuclear proliferation to mass migration, cybersecurity, 
climate change, and, as we are experiencing now, pandemics.

  There is no wall high enough to keep any virus away. As our own 
vaccine supply grows to meet our needs--and we are meeting them--we 
will become an arsenal of vaccines for other countries, just as America 
was the arsenal of democracy in World War II and, as a consequence, 
influenced the world. Every American will have access to be fully 
covered by the vaccines we have for COVID-19.
  The climate crisis is not our fight alone, either. It is a global 
fight. The United States accounts for, as all of you know, less than 15 
percent of carbon emissions. The rest of the world accounts for 85 
percent. That is why I kept my commitment to rejoin the Paris accord 
because if we do everything perfectly, it is not going to matter.
  I kept my commitment to convene a climate summit right here in 
America with all the major economies of the world, from China and 
Russia to India and the European Union. I said I would do it in my 
first 100 days. I want to be very blunt about it: My intent was to make 
sure that the world could see that there was a consensus and that we 
are at an inflection point in history. The consensus is if we act, we 
can save the planet, and we can create millions of jobs and economic 
growth and opportunity to raise the standard of living for almost 
everyone around the world.
  If you watched any of it--and you were all busy; I am sure you didn't 
have much time--that is what virtually every nation said, even the ones 
that aren't doing their fair share.
  The investments I have proposed tonight also advance a foreign 
policy, in my view, that benefits the middle class. That means making 
sure every nation plays by the same rules in the global economy, 
including China.
  In my discussion with President Xi, I told him we welcome the 
competition. We are not looking for conflict, but I made absolutely 
clear that we will defend America's interests across the board. America 
will stand up to unfair trade practices that undercut American workers 
and American industries, like subsidies for state-owned enterprises and 
the theft of American technologies and intellectual property.
  I also told President Xi that we will maintain a strong military 
presence in the Indo-Pacific just as we do with

[[Page H2122]]

NATO in Europe; not to start a conflict, but to prevent one.
  I told him what I have said to many world leaders, that America will 
not back away from our commitments--our commitment to human rights and 
fundamental freedoms and to our alliances. I pointed out to him, no 
responsible American President can remain silent when basic human 
rights are being so blatantly violated.
  An American President has to represent the essence of what our 
country stands for. America is an idea, the most unique idea in 
history. We are created, all of us, equal. It is who we are. We cannot 
walk away from that principle and, in fact, say we are dealing with the 
American idea.
  With regard to Russia, I know it concerns some of you, but I made it 
very clear to President Putin that we are not going to seek escalation, 
but their actions will have consequences if they turn out to be true, 
and they turned out to be true. So I responded directly and 
proportionately to Russia's interference in our elections and the cyber 
attacks on our government and our businesses. They did both of these 
things. I told them we would respond, and we have.
  But we can also cooperate when it is in our mutual interests. We did 
it when we extended the New START Treaty on nuclear arms, and we are 
working to do it on climate change. But he understands, we will 
respond.
  On Iran and North Korea, nuclear programs that present serious 
threats to America's security and the security of the world, we are 
going to be working closely with our allies to address the threats 
posed by both of these countries through diplomacy, as well as stern 
deterrence.
  And American leadership means ending the forever war in Afghanistan. 
We have, without hyperbole, the greatest fighting force in the history 
of the world. I am the first President in 40 years who knows what it 
means to have a son serving in a war zone. Today we have servicemembers 
serving in the same war zone as their parents did. We have 
servicemembers in Afghanistan who were not yet born on 9/11. The war in 
Afghanistan, as we remember the debates here, was never meant to be a 
multi-generational undertaking of nation-building.
  We went to Afghanistan to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. 
We said we would follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell to do it. 
If you have been in the Upper Kunar Valley, you have kind of seen the 
gates of hell. We delivered justice to Osama bin Laden, and we degraded 
the terrorist threat of al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
  After 20 years of American valor and sacrifice, it is time to bring 
those troops home. Even as we do, we will maintain an over-the-horizon 
capability to suppress future threats to the homeland. But make no 
mistake, in 20 years, terrorism has metastasized. The threat has 
evolved way beyond Afghanistan.
  Those of you on the Intelligence Committees, the Foreign Relations 
Committee, the Defense Committees, you know well we have to remain 
vigilant against the threats to the United States, wherever they come 
from. Al-Qaida and ISIS are in Yemen, Syria, Somalia, and other places 
in Africa and the Middle East and beyond.
  And we won't ignore what our own intelligence agencies have 
determined to be the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland 
today, white supremacist terrorism. We are not going to ignore that 
either.
  My fellow Americans, we have to come together to heal the soul of 
this Nation. It was nearly a year ago, before her father's funeral, 
when I spoke with Gianna Floyd, George Floyd's young daughter. She is a 
little tyke, so I was kneeling down to talk to her so I could look her 
in the eye. She looked at me and said, ``My daddy changed the world.''
  Well, after the conviction of George Floyd's murderer, we can see how 
right she was, if we have the courage to act as a Congress.
  We have all seen the knee of injustice on the neck of Black 
Americans. Now is our opportunity to make some real progress. The vast 
majority of men and women wearing the uniform and a badge serve our 
communities, and they serve them honorably. I know them. I know they 
want to help meet this moment as well.
  My fellow Americans, we have to come together to rebuild trust 
between law enforcement and the people they serve; to root out systemic 
racism in our criminal justice system; and to enact police reform in 
George Floyd's name that passed the House already.

  I know Republicans have their own ideas and are engaged in very 
productive discussions with Democrats in the Senate. We need to work 
together to find a consensus. Let's get it done next month, by the 
first anniversary of George Floyd's death. The country supports this 
reform, and Congress should act.
  We have a giant opportunity to bend the arc of the moral universe 
toward justice, real justice. With the plans I outlined tonight, we 
have a real chance to root out systemic racism that plagues America and 
American lives in other ways; a chance to deliver real equity, good 
jobs, good schools, affordable housing, clean air, clean water; being 
able to generate wealth and pass it down through generations because 
you have access to purchase a house; real opportunities in the lives of 
more Americans--Black, White, Latino, Asian Americans, Native 
Americans.
  I also want to thank the United States Senate for voting 94-1 to pass 
the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to protect Asian Americans and Pacific 
Islanders. They acted decisively. You can see on television the 
viciousness of the hate crimes we have seen over the past year and for 
too long. I urge the House to do the same and send that legislation to 
my desk, which I will gladly, anxiously sign.
  I also hope Congress can get to my desk the Equality Act to protect 
LGBTQ Americans. To all the transgender Americans watching at home, 
especially the young people who are so brave, I want you to know that 
your President has your back.
  Another thing: Let's reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, 
which has been law for 27 years. Twenty-seven years ago, I wrote it. 
The act that has to be reauthorized now will close the boyfriend 
loophole to keep guns out of the hands of abusers. The court order said 
this is an abuser. You can't own a gun. It is to close that loophole 
that existed. It is estimated that 50 women are shot and killed by an 
intimate partner every month in America; fifty a month. Let's pass it 
and save some lives.
  I need not tell anyone this, but gun violence has become an epidemic 
in America.
  Our flag at the White House was still flying at half-mast for the 8 
victims of the mass shooting in Georgia, when 10 more lives were taken 
in a mass shooting in Colorado.
  In the week in between those two events, 250 other Americans were 
shot dead in the streets of America. 250 shot dead.
  I know how hard it is to make progress on this issue.
  In the 1990s, we passed universal background checks and a ban on 
assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that hold 100 rounds that 
can be fired in seconds. We beat the NRA. Mass shootings and gun 
violence declined. Check out the report over 10 years.
  But in the early 2000s, that law expired, and we have seen daily 
bloodshed since. I am not saying if the law continued, we wouldn't see 
bloodshed.
  More than 2 weeks ago in the Rose Garden, surrounded by some of the 
bravest people I know--the survivors and families who have lost loved 
ones to gun violence--I laid out several of the Department of Justice 
actions that are being taken to end this epidemic.
  One of them is banning so-called ``ghost guns.'' They are homemade 
guns built from a kit that includes directions on how to finish the 
firearm. The parts have no serial numbers, so when they show up at 
crime scenes, they can't be traced.
  The buyers of these ghost gun kits aren't required to pass a 
background check. Anyone from a criminal to a terrorist could buy this 
kit and, within 30 minutes, have a weapon that is lethal.
  But not anymore. I will do everything in my power to protect the 
American people from this epidemic of gun violence. But it is time for 
Congress to act as well. I don't want to become confrontational, but we 
need more Senate Republicans to join the overwhelming majority of the 
Democratic colleagues and close the loopholes and require background 
checks to

[[Page H2123]]

purchase guns, and we need a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity 
magazines.
  Don't tell me it can't be done. We did it before, and it worked.
  Talk to most responsible gun owners and hunters, and they will tell 
you there is no possible justification for having 100 rounds in a 
weapon.
  What do you think, deer are wearing kevlar vests?
  They will tell you that there are too many people today who are able 
to buy a gun, but who shouldn't be able to buy a gun.
  These kinds of reasonable reforms have overwhelming support of the 
American people, including many gun owners.
  The country supports reform, and Congress should act. This shouldn't 
be a red or blue issue. And no amendment to the Constitution is 
absolute.
  You can't yell ``fire'' in a crowded theater. From the very 
beginning, there were certain guns, weapons that could not be owned by 
Americans. Certain people could not own those weapons ever. We are not 
changing the Constitution. We are being reasonable.
  I think this is not a Democratic or Republican issue. I think it is 
an American issue.
  And here is what else we can do: Immigration has always been 
essential to America. Let's end our exhausting war over immigration. 
For more than 30 years, politicians have talked about immigration 
reform, and we have done nothing about it. It is time to fix it.
  On day one of my Presidency, I kept my commitment and sent a 
comprehensive immigration bill to the United States Congress. If you 
believe we need to secure the border, pass it, because it has a lot of 
money for high-tech border security. If you believe in a pathway to 
citizenship, pass it so over 11 million undocumented folks--the vast 
majority who are here overstaying visas--pass it. If you actually want 
to solve a problem, I have sent a bill to take a close look at it.
  We also have to get at the root problem of why people are fleeing, 
particularly to our southern border, from Guatemala, Honduras, and El 
Salvador. The violence. The corruption. The gangs. The political 
instability. Hunger. Hurricanes. Earthquakes. Natural disasters.
  When I was Vice President, the President asked me to focus on 
providing the help needed to address the root causes of migration. It 
helped keep people in their own countries instead of being forced to 
leave.
  The plan was working, but the last administration decided it was not 
worth it. I am restoring the program, and I asked Vice President Harris 
to lead our diplomatic effort to take care of this. I have absolute 
confidence she will get the job done.
  If you don't like my plan, let's at least pass what we all agree on.
  Congress needs to pass legislation this year to finally secure 
protection for Dreamers, the young people who have only known America 
as their home; and permanent protections for immigrants who are here on 
temporary protected status, who come from countries beset by man-made 
and natural-made violent and disasters; as well as a pathway to 
citizenship for farmworkers who put food on our tables.
  Immigrants have done so much for America during this pandemic and 
throughout our history. The country supports immigration reform.
  Congress should act. Let's argue over it. Let's debate it. But let's 
act.
  And if we truly want to restore the soul of America, we need to 
protect the sacred right to vote.
  More people voted in the last Presidential election than any time in 
American history--in the middle of the worst pandemic ever. That should 
be celebrated. Instead, it is being attacked.
  Congress should pass H.R. 1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and 
send it to my desk right away. The country supports it, and Congress 
should act now.
  In conclusion, as we gather here tonight, the images of a violent mob 
assaulting this Capitol--desecrating our democracy--remain vivid in our 
minds. Lives were put at risk, many of your lives. Lives were lost. 
Extraordinary courage was summoned. The insurrection was an existential 
crisis--a test on whether our democracy could survive.

  It did. But the struggle is far from over. The question of whether 
our democracy will long endure is both ancient and urgent. As old as 
our Republic. Still vital today.
  Can our democracy deliver on its promise that all of us--created 
equal in the image of God--have a chance to lead lives of dignity, 
respect, and possibility?
  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?
  America's adversaries--the autocrats of the world--are betting we 
can't. And I promise you they are betting we can't. They believe we are 
too full of anger and division of rage. They look at the images of the 
mob that assaulted the Capitol as proof that the Sun is setting on 
American democracy.
  They are wrong. You know it. I know it. We have to prove them wrong. 
We have to prove democracy still works, that our government still 
works, and we can deliver for our people.
  In our first 100 days together, we have acted to restore people's 
faith in democracy to deliver.
  We are vaccinating the Nation. We are creating hundreds of thousands 
of new jobs. We are delivering real results to people. They can see it 
and feel it in their own lives.
  Opening doors of opportunity, guaranteeing fairness and justice, that 
is the essence of America. That is democracy in action.
  Our Constitution opens with the words, as trite as it sounds, ``We 
the people.''
  It is time to remember that we the people are the government. You and 
I. Not some force in a distant capital. Not some powerful force that we 
have no control over. It is us. It is ``We the people.''
  In another era when our democracy was tested, Franklin Roosevelt 
reminded us: In America: we do our part.
  We all do our part. That is all I am asking. That we all do our part, 
all of us. If we do that, we will meet the central challenge of the age 
by proving that democracy is durable and strong.
  The autocrats will not win the future. We will. America will. The 
future belongs to America.
  I stand here tonight before you in a new and vital hour in the life 
of our democracy and our Nation. And I can say with absolute 
confidence: I have never been more confident or optimistic about 
America, not because I am President, but because of what is happening 
with the American people.
  We have stared into the abyss of insurrection and autocracy, of 
pandemic and pain, and ``We the people'' did not flinch.
  At the very moment our adversaries were certain we would pull apart 
and fail, we came together. We united.
  With light and hope, we summoned new strength and new resolve to 
position us to win the competition for the 21st century on our way to a 
Union more perfect, more prosperous, and more just as one people, one 
Nation, and one America.
  Folks, as I told every world leader I have ever met with over the 
years, it has never, ever, ever been a good bet to bet against America, 
and it still isn't.
  We are the United States of America. There is not a single thing--
nothing--beyond our capacity. We can do whatever we set our minds to if 
we do it together. So, let's begin to get together.
  God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.
  Thank you for your patience.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  At 10 o'clock and 20 minutes p.m., the President of the United 
States, accompanied by the committee of escort, retired from the Hall 
of the House of Representatives.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms escorted the invited guests 
from the Chamber in the following order:
  The members of the President's Cabinet;
  The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court;
  The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.
  The SPEAKER. The Chair declares the joint session of the two Houses 
now dissolved.
  Accordingly, at 10 o'clock and 20 minutes p.m., the joint session of 
the two Houses was dissolved.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  April 28, 2021, on page H2123, the following appeared: 
Accordingly, at 10 o'clock and 21 minutes p.m., the joint session 
of the two Houses was dissolved.
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: Accordingly, at 
10 o'clock and 20 minutes p.m., the joint session of the two 
Houses was dissolved.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  The Members of the Senate retired to their Chamber.

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