"We are stronger today than we were a year ago," the president said.
President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address as Russian strikes were killing civilians, forces were massing near Ukraine's capital Kyiv and Russian President Vladimir Putin showed no sign of backing down.
Speaking in defense of police and law enforcement across the country and receiving a standing ovation from both Republicans and Democrats, Biden made clear that "The answer is not to defund the police, it's to fund the police."
Highlighting his other key legislation passed last year, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Biden reached across the aisle and thanked GOP members for helping get that bill done.
"We're done talking about infrastructure weeks. We're now talking about an infrastructure decade," he said. "It’s going to transform America to put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st century that we face with the rest of the world-- particularly China."
To help the U.S. stay competitive against China, Biden said he needs Congress to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act "that will make record investments in emerging technologies and American manufacturing."
Biden said if this bill gets passed, Intel's CEO is ready to spend $100 billion in investments in domestic manufacturing.
"And all they’re waiting for is for you to pass this bill. So let's not wait any longer," he said. "Send it to my desk. I'll sign it. And we will really take off in a big way."
-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez
Pivoting from his remarks on Ukraine, Biden reminded the nation that we “lived through two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced” amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the “punishing” cost that has had on American families.
“So many families are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas, housing, and so much more. I understand.”
Biden highlighted the American Rescue Plan that was signed into law after taking office, saying, "Few pieces of legislation have done more at a critical moment in our history to lift us out of crisis."
He said the legislation "fueled efforts" to vaccinate Americans, deliver relief and cut insurance costs, and he took a swipe at his predecessor’s tax cut bill that was signed in 2017.
“Unlike the $2 trillion tax cut passed in the previous administration that benefitted the top 1% of Americans," he said, prompting scattered boos, "the American Rescue Plan helped working people -- and left no one behind. And it worked. It created jobs. Lots of jobs," he said.
-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez
Biden addressed the severe sanctions the U.S. and its allies have imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying they have made Russian President Vladimir Putin's "$630 billion war fund worthless."
"Tonight I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime, no more," Biden said.
The president further announced that the U.S. will be closing off its airspace to all Russian flights, "further isolating Russia and adding an additional squeeze on their economy."
"He has no idea what's coming," Biden said of Putin.
