Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2022

September 23, 2022

The President. Well, I tell you what, I think I like this crowd. [Applause] Talk about being home and the fact you've got the president of the union standing out there with other unionsâI'll tell you what, man. I was going to say, if you have a seat, take one, but you don't have any seats. [Laughter]

Look, Dajsha, that wasâthat was a greatâshe's pretty good for someone in the last year in college, you know? Dajsha, just remember me. When you're President and they say, "Joe Biden is in the outer office," promise you won't say, "Joe who?" when I come in. [*Laughter*]

[*At this point, the President addressed audience members positioned above the dais.*]

Hey, folks, how are you all? I'm going to talk about more than just the NEA today becauseâ and I want toâI've told your president I want to come back and just talk pure education as well. But I want to talk a littleâmuch broader. And, Becky, thanks for hosting us. I appreciate it very much.

Forty-six days to the midterms. We need to be crystal clear about what we'reâwhat's on the ballot, because there's a heck of a lot at stake that's on the ballot. Right nowâright nowâon the ballot, there's Social Security. It's on the ballot. You all have paid every singleâand of every paycheck you got, you paid into itââ

[*The President's microphone malfunctioned. He tapped it on the podium to restore proper functioning and continued his remarks as follows.*]

ââyou paid into. Holy mackerel. [*Laughter*]

Audience member. All right!

The President. Anyway, but there's a lot reallyâtruly, there's a lot on the ballot. There'sâ this isâmy dad used to have an expression. He'd say: "Joey, don't compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative." [Laughter] And we have a real alternative here thatâthis is not aâthis is not going to be an election that isn't of significant consequence.

Gun safety for our kids and gun violence are on the ballot. The idea that you start school this year and kids in many parts of the country learn how to duck and cover rather thanâno, I'm serious; think about itârather than talking about reading, writing, and arithmetic is a very different circumstance. It's not right. It's not who we are. It's not who we should be.

And, folks, look, the of survival our planet is on the ballot. And that sounds like hyperbole, but it genuinely is.

Audience member. We need EPA!

The President. Well, I tell you what, the thing that we found out and everybody found out: There's not a lot of total climate deniers anymore after they've seen what happened this year. But guess what? We've got a lot to do.

[*The President addressed an audience member as follows.*]

You've got to say hi to me. [*Laughter*] We go back a long way. She was 12; I was 30. But anywayâ[*laughter*]âthis woman helped me get an awful lot done. Anyway.

But right nowâand it's not hyperbole to suggest right now democracy itself is on the ballot as well. Folks, I believe America is at an inflection point. And I apologize toâI'm a labor guy. I've spent a lot of time with all of youânot all of you, but with labor movementsâsince I got elected and my whole career. Butâand I apologize if I repeat some things.

But I think we're really at an inflection point. It occurs every three, four, five generations. It doesn't occur every election. And by "inflection point," I mean that these momentsâthese are going to determine the shape of everything that's going to come after, what we do now. What we do in the next several years is going to determine what this country looks like in 25 and 30 years. It's that consequential.

Now, 46 days to chooseâ46 days. And the path offered by Democrats is contrasted with the one offered by the MAGA Republicans. And by the way, not all Republicans are MAGA Republicans.

Audience members. That's right!

The President. So I want to make that clear. And for years and years, I had a reputationâI remember I got beat up in the campaign by saying that I wanted to unify the country and unify the parties. You used to be able to do that. But things have changed a whole bunch.

The MAGA Republicans control the Republican Party right now, and that's self-evident.

That's self-evident. So there's a lot at stake here. And I'm going to talk a little bit about that right now.

Earlier today, after opposing and obstructing everything we tried to do to stop progress for the last 2 years, the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy went to Pennsylvania and unveiled what he calls a "Commitment to America." That's a thin series of policy goals, with little or no detail, that he says Republicans are going to pursue if they regain control of the Congress.

In the course of nearly an hour, here's a few of the things we didn't hear. We didn't hear him mention the right to choose. We didn't hear him mention Medicare. We didn't hear him mention Social Security.

So let's take a look at what Kevin said today. He said Republicans want to, quote, "preserve our constitutional freedom." That sounds great. I'm for doing that as well; we all are. But look at what they've actually done.

The MAGA Republicans just cheered and embraced the first Supreme Court decision in our entire historyâthe first one in our entire historyâthat just didn't fail to preserve a constitutional freedom, it actually took away a fundamental right that had been granted by the same Court to so many Americans: the constitutional right to choose. And now nearly half the States in the United States of America have either passed a ban on abortion or will shortly. And in many States, abortion is already banned even in cases of rape and incest, a fundamental change.

Already, 166 House Republicans have signed on to a bill that would ban abortion nationwide. And the senior Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, has proposed a national ban on abortion with criminal penalties put on doctors and put them in jail if they, in fact, violate the ban.

So, in 46 days, America is going to choose: If Republicans win control of the Congress, abortion will be banned. And by the way, it will be initially banned, but if they win Congress, I will veto it.

But think what's happening. They're banning in the case ofâin the case of rape and incest in many States. No exceptions. And they're going to beâthey're trying to criminalize it nationwide.

But if you give me two more Democratic Senators in the United States Senate, I promise youâI promise youâwe're going to codify *Roe*. We'll once again make *Roe *the law of the land. And we'll once again protect a woman's right to choose.

And the power to get this done is in the hands of the American people, especially the women of America.

Audience member. Thank you!

The President. Andâno, no, it really is. Justice Alito said that women can decide the outcome of this electionâparaphrasing some quote in the actual decision. Well, he ain't seen nothing yet. I don't believe that MAGA Republicans have a clue about the power of American women. Let me tell you something: They're about to find out.

And, folks, Kevin McCarthy also talked about, quote, "longer, healthier lives for Americans." Again, it sounds great. Who's not for that? Well, just look at what the Republicans are doing. Already, 158 House Republicans have signed on to a Republican budget that will cut Medicare and Social Securityâalready.

Audience members. Boo!

The President. The man in charge of electing Republicans in the U.S. Senate, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, has proposed a plan to put Social Security on the chopping block every 5 years. De novo.

Audience members. Boo!

The President. No, I'm notâI know this sounds likeâbut I really mean it. Look, go on the internet, and check it out. They've laid out the platform. It means every 5 years, according toâif they succeed in the Senateâthe Congress will vote to either cut, reduce, or completely eliminate Social Security, or bring it back exactly as it is. What do you think the prospects of it coming back exactly as it is?

You've been paying into Social Security ever since you got your first paycheck. Well, then there's Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

Audience members. Boo!

The President. As my mother would say, "God bless his soul." [Laughter]

Look, he thinks waiting 5 years is too long. He wants to putâno, he wants to put Social Security on the chopping block every single year. If Congress doesn't vote to keep it, it goes away. An affirmative requirement to vote to keep it. Now, think of that. It's not just Social Security he wants to put up; he wants Medicare, Medicaid benefits, every Federal budget, every federal benefit gets up and has to be voted on every year. De novo. Just from theâfrom scratch.

So, in 46 days, America is going to face a choice. If Republicans control the Congress, Social Security will be on the chopping block. But if you support the DemocratsâI promise you thisâSocial Security will be protected. Period. And I won't let any MAGA Republican take it away.

Leader McCarthy talked about waitingâwanting a nation that's safe. Well, let's look at what Republicans have done to make it safe. They voted against virtually everything we've done to reduce crime and keep communities safe.

The American Rescue Plan, it was theâwhen we first got into office, we passed it. You know what it was designed to do? An awful lot of mayors and Governors and county executives, they don't haveâthey didn't have the tax base, because I was left with an economy that was in distress.

So we said: "Here you go. We're going to give you this money so you can make sure you can keep your schools open, you can make sure you keep police departments open, make sure you keep your hospitals open, make sure you keep the fire departments open." And guess what? Every single Republican in the Congress voted against that. Every single Republican voted against it.

Now, look, we're in a situation where now the MAGA Republicans are calling for defunding. They'reâthey're defundingâdefunding the FBI. Now, let me tell you something: I don't thinkâand I know some of you weren't happy with meâI didn't think we should defund the police; I never believed that and said so at the time. But I sure in hell don't think we should be defunding the FBI either.

And then there's theâthen there's the day we'll never forget, on January 6. What happened on the 6th? Law enforcement was attacked, assaulted, brutalized, and stomped on, and later, several died. Some lost their lives because of that day. The MAGA Republicans didn't side with law enforcement; they sided with the insurrectionists. And they still do. Don't tell me you support law enforcement if you can't condemn what happened on January the 6th. Don't tell me that.

You can'tâyou can't be proâlaw enforcement and pro-insurrection. You can't claim to be a party of law and order and call the people who attacked the police on January 6 "patriots." That's what they're called.

And you can't claim to be for a safe America if you take orders from the NRA. Look, we just passed the most meaningful gun safety law in 30 years in this country, but most Republicans voted against it. Some, thank God, joined us, and we passed it, and sidedâbut most sided with the NRA.

After Buffalo, Uvalde, Newtown, El Paso, Parkland, Charleston, Las Vegas, OrlandoâI went to every one of those places. I spent hours and hours and hours with those familiesânot a joke. Not a joke. Hours with them. I know what it's like, under different circumstances, to lose children. But lose children like they lost their children? Enough. We've had enough. It's time to pass the assault weapons ban.

Look, I support the Second Amendment. I have two shotguns, and I'm notâIâthe only thing I really do is really target practice. I haven't done that in a long time. [*Laughter*] But here's the thing: There's no justification for a weapon of war. None. The speed of that bullet is five times that that comes out of the muzzle of most weapons. It can penetrate your vests.

And by the way, as I pointed out when I wasâgot a pass the first time as a Senatorâin Delaware, we're a big gun-owning State. A lot of duck hunters, a lot of hunters. And I'd be goingâand I literally went up and down the streams campaigning and going to the people who were partâwho belonged to the NRA and others. And I'd say, "How many deer out here are wearing Kevlar vests?" [*Laughter*] You know?

And, folks, we can do it again. Our childrenâour childrenâshould be in a situation of learning how, as I said, to read and write, not duck and cover. So, in 46 days, if you want a safer America, America faces a choice. Republicans will once again side with the NRA and put American families and children at risk. And, I mean, some Democrats as well, and there are some Republicans who support us. It's not down the line, but it's theâpart of their platform. Democrats will ban assault weapons once and for all, God willing.

Kevin McCarthy also talks about their being for a strong economy. But look what the Republicans have done. When I came to office, the economy was flat on its back. Millions out of work. Food lines that stretchedâremember seeing all those food lines? People in nice-looking automobiles waiting for an hour, hour and a half just to have a bucket ofâa box of food put in their trunk. In the United States of Americaâin the United States of Americaâthat was happeningâall across America.

The most anemic job performance since Herbert Hoover was in place. And that's not hyperbole; that's a fact. So we acted quickly. We passed the American Rescue Plan, which lifted this Nation from economic crisis to economic recovery. And every single Republican voted for it.

Nearly 10 million more jobs have been created since I've been President, the highest number of jobs in that period of time of any President of the United States of America. We have a 3.7- percent unemployment rate, the lowest in 50âmore than 50 years; a record number of newâ record number of new small businesses created; and over 668,000 new manufacturing jobs in America.

The American Rescue Plan helped keep teachers, police officers, firefighters, first responders on the job. It provided the money needed to get schools open. And it was a big reason we've been able to vaccinate over 220 million Americans.

More to do.

With the infrastructure law we passed, we did get some Republican help for that. Well, that infrastructure law is the most significant investment in America since President Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System.

Nowâsome Republicans voted for it, and some were critical. But the truth is, there's a lot more Republicans out there taking credit for the new bridges and thoseâ[*inaudible*]âthat are collapsing than actually voted for it. I love going by, and they're, you knowâ"And this is great thing. I voted against it, but this is a great thing." [*Laughter*]

But, folks, in addition to inheriting a failed MAGA Republican economy, we also confronted a global pandemic and Putin's war in Ukraine, and that's driven the global inflation we see today. That's why it's so important that we pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which I proposed from the beginning, but didn't get passed until this summer.

This law will cut costs for families, help reduce inflation at the kitchen table. The way we always measured inflationâand my dad was a graceful, hard-working guy. He workedâhe worked a lot, his whole life. And my dad used to sayâhe used to talk about whether inflation orâthe situation of a family to have breathing room is: At the end of the month, when you paid all your bills, did you have a little bit leftâjust a little bit left?

So there's more than one wayâmore than one wayâto deal with the inflation to a family: to lower the price of the things they have to deal with, because that's what folks at home think about. How much of their monthly billsâhow much do they have to pay for the necessities?

This law is going to give them just a little more breathing room, as my dad would say. We pay more for our prescription drugs than any nation in the world. Well, for years, so many of us for a long time, and many of the unions in hereâevery one of the unions hereâhave been trying to fix this problem.

Medicare will have the power to do what so many Democrats and many Republicans in the past talked about doing: lowering prescription drug prices. They pay billions of dollars. They can negotiate lower prices like other countries do.

And the seniorsâwe passed a law saying: Beginning in January, no senior, no matter what the cost of prescription drugsâcancer drugs, whatever drugs they have; and some of them can be

$60-, $70-, $80,000 a yearâno senior will have to pay, no matter what the cost of their drugs, more than $2,000 a year beginning in January.

And if you're aâif you're on Medicare and you have diabetes, the cost of your insulinâ instead of being 30 to 40 to 50 times more than the cost to make the insulin, it costs 10 bucks to make that insulinâ10âand package it. But now you cannot charge any seniorâand we should make it for everybody. They voted down the other piece. But every senior will not have to pay more than $35 a month for the cost of their insulin.

We wanted to cut the cost of insulin for everyoneâfor everyone, including the hundreds of thousands of children who have type 1 diabetes.

But look, folks, imagine being the parent of a child who had type 1 diabetes; you had no insurance, and you had no coverage. You have to look at that child and knowâand knowâthat if he or she does not have access to that insulin, it will fundamentally affect their lives in ways that are going to be damaging for the rest of their lives. Imagine the feeling.

My dad used to say: "Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about your dignity. It's about respect." And he'd always end by saying, "It's about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, 'Honey, it's going to be okay.'"

Well, guess what? The Republicans blocked limiting that cost to 35 bucks for kids. As I said, it only costs 10 bucks for that prescription that he made and packaged. Drug companies are charging families more than 30 times as much for that drug on a monthly basis. And a lot of people just can't do it.

Imagine, as I said, being that mom and dad needing that insulin. It has to beâI was down in Virginia at a function. I met a mom who said they have to ration the insulin, be ableâI mean, it's wrong. It's not who we are. We're going to fix that as well, I promise you.

Folks, the bottom line: This law is going to lower energy costs as well. Gas pricesâI know I got criticized for going into the stockpile. But guess what? Gas prices are down $1.30 a gallon.

And in 41 States, plus the District of Columbia, the average gasoline price is less than $2.99.

Look, the law makes the biggest investment ever. We invest in climate crisis, $369 billion to deal with the climate crisis.

And it makes the Tax Code fairer. In 2020, 55 of the biggest corporations in the country paid zero dollars in Federal income taxes.

Audience members. Boo!

The President. And they made $40 billion. It's not right. So we put a stop to it by enacting a corporate minimum tax of onlyâbut only 15 percent. Today, the days of big, profitable corporations paying nothing in Federal income tax is over.

And guess what? Every single Republican voted against the Inflation Reduction Act. When it actually comes to actually doing something about inflation, Republicans said no. And they said, time and again, that the first chance they get, they're going to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.

And here's what else Republicans are, in terms of their fiscal recklessness. Donald Trump and the Republicans had no problemââ

Audience member. Boo!

ââhad no problem enacting, in his 4 years, a $2 trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefitted the top 1 percent. And they didn't pay for a penny of it. And it massively increased the Federal deficit.

Meanwhileâyou know, we always say the Democrats are the big spenders? We brought down the deficitâ$350 billion the first year and nearly $1.5 trillion this year. And the Inflation Reduction Act is going to reduce it another $300 billion becauseâover the next 10 years, because Medicare can reduceâcan pay less for the drugs they have to buy for the seniors.

So I don't want to hear it from Republicans. They're the ones who blew up the deficit.

They're the onesâand we're the ones bringing it down.

And now, thanks to the historic deficit reduction, we can afford to cancel $10,000 in student debt and $20,000 if you have a Pell grant for tens of millions of Americans making under

$125,000. It's a gamechanger.

And Republicans are already looking for their hand-picked judges to deny relief to those hard-working Americans. They will not succeed, in my view, but that's who they're looking for.

And finally, with a straight face, Kevin McCarthy says that MAGA Republicans will restore faith in our elections. [*Laughter*] As we say in my faith, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." [*Laughter*] Restoreârestoreâfaith in our elections? MAGA Republicans refuse to accept the results of the 2020 election and the will of the people.

Eighty-one million people voted Democrat for President last time. Even though they lost court case after court case after court case after court case after court case, even in front of Trump-appointed judges. And recount after recount proved the results were accurate. It's become a litmus test in their party to pledge loyalty to Donald Trump by buying into the "big lie." Now, I'm serious. You all see it onâall on television.

Look, the fact is that a lot of themâI've had six Republican Senators who I've known for some time come to meâand I gave them my word I'd never mention names, and I never willâ separately, telling me that they agree with this, that, or the other thing that I was proposing, but if I voted for it, it would cost them their election because they'd lose a primary.

Well, you see what's happening. You see the MAGA Republican program being adapted by all these folks in the primary. And then once they get out of the primary, they're trying like hell to figure out how to get out from under that. [*Laughter*] No, no, I'm serious.

You can't let the integrity of our elections be undermined. Democracy can't survive. It cannot survive. Not a joke. It can't survive when one side believes there's only two outcomes to an election: Either they win, or they were cheated. [*Laughter*]

That's not democracy. And that's where the vast majority of MAGA Republicans are today. They don't understand what every patriotic American knows: You can't love your country only when you win. Only when you win.

Let me close with this. As I said earlier, my dad used to say: "Don't compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative." This November, you have to choose to be a nation of hope, unity, and optimism, or a nation of fear, division, and darkness.

I believe America will move forward to the futureâa future of possibilities; a future in which we can build, dream, and hope. I know we can, because I know this nation like you do. I know the American people. I know their courage. I know their hearts. I know our history.

That's whyâand I mean this from the bottom of my heart. And those of you who know me, no one ever doubts I mean what I say; the problem is, I sometimes say all that I mean. [*Laughter*] But all kidding aside, I've never been more optimistic. We're the only country in the world that's come out of every crisis stronger than we went into it.

It's not just about building back to what it was before. We have a chance to build back in a way to make it better for everybody. Everybody.

And I want to get back to the time when I'm debating Republicans or conservatives, heck, but believe in the institutionsâbelieve in the institutions; have a fair and square fight about what we're doing; think the Court and theâand the Congress and the Presidency are independent branches of government and should be treated with respect. That's what I'm looking forward to.

We've just got to remember who in God's name we are. We are the United States of America. And there's nothingâthere's nothingâbeyond our capacity, not a single thing we can't do when we do it together. And the way to do that is start with the unions, to do it together, together, together.

May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.

[*The President turned to face audience members standing behind him and addressed them as follows.*]

And I should have started off by saying, "Excuse my back when I'm speaking." [*Laughter*] I apologize.

Thank you all very much. And God bless you all. Let's keep this going. Thank you.

NOTE: The President spoke at 1:07 p.m. at the National Education Association Headquarters. In his remarks, he referred to Rebecca S. Pringle, president, National Education Association; Dajsha Williams, senior, Ohio State University, who introduced the President; President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia; and Midlothian, VA, resident Shannon Davis.

Categories: Addresses and Remarks : Democratic National Committee rally. Locations: Washington, DC.

Names: Alito, Samuel A., Jr.; Davis, Shannon; Graham, Lindsey O.; Johnson, Ronald H.; McCarthy, Kevin O.; Pringle, Rebecca S.; Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich; Scott, Richard L.; Trump, Donald J.; Williams, Dajsha.

Subjects: Budget, Federal : Deficit and national debt; Business and industry : Manufacturing industry :: Strengthening efforts; Business and industry : Small businesses, promotion efforts; Civil rights : Firearm rights; Congress : House of Representatives :: Minority leader; Democratic Party : Democratic National Committee; Diseases : Coronavirus, domestic prevention efforts; District of Columbia : Democratic Party events; District of Columbia: 2021 civil unrest and violence at U.S. Capitol; Economy, national : Inflation; Economy, national : Strengthening efforts; Education : Postsecondary education :: Federal student loans, partial forgiveness; Education : Postsecondary education :: Pell grants; Elections : 2022 congressional elections;

DCPD Number: DCPD202200827.