Washington — President Biden will reintroduce pieces of his domestic policy agenda when he addresses Congress during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night and highlight what he sees as his achievements during his first year in office, senior administration officials told reporters in a briefing call on Monday.
While they avoided confirming whether the president will specifically mention “inflation,” an issue that is top of mind for American voters, one official said the president would address “price increases” that “become entrenched” and “eat away at the economic progress the country is making and squeez[e] families’ budgets.”
It’s unclear exactly how or when Congress will act on the president’s domestic tax and spending agenda — known as Build Back Better — with just months before the midterm elections. The proposal faltered in December when Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia withdrew his support. In his address, the president will “make clear that there is more work to do, that there is more work to rebuild the economy towards resilience, security, and sustainability.”
“What you can expect the president to lay out tomorrow is how his plan, the ideas he’s put forward, lowers costs for families, can reduce the deficit and that it’s time for Congress to act,” one official said. “It’s time for Congress to get him a piece of legislation that addresses those core challenges for families right now.”
Addressing those issues — like child care, family and medical leave, energy costs and health care premiums — would lower costs for families, administration officials argued. But administration officials didn’t mention the word “inflation” until reporters brought it up themselves.
“I’m not going to go into whether he will say the word ‘inflation’ or not,” said one official, adding that they knew better than to say whether a specific phrase will be in a speech that will likely be revised up until the last minute.
The president will address strengthening supply chains, moving goods faster and cheaper, promoting fair competition and eliminating barriers to good-paying jobs, the officials said. He will describe the “emerging manufacturing comeback,” as one senior administration official described it. The president will also address ideas on housing, making higher education more affordable and outline proposals to make sure corporations and wealthy Americans pay their “fair share,” as one official put it.
The president will tout the American Rescue Plan, as well as his infrastructure law. He will also announce the administration’s plans for everyone who wants to work to be able to find a high-quality job, they said.
“The president is proud of the administration’s progress to date,” and will continue to build on it, one official on the call said.
The president’s State of the Union address will air at 9 p.m. ET on CBS News platforms.
Sara Cook contributed reporting.
