Biden lays out plan for America 'on the move again' in address to Congress

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., tapped to deliver the GOP response to Biden's address, is set to tout the success of the economy before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to excerpts released Wednesday night.

Scott will say that the best future from America will not come from "socialist dreams," but from the American people.

"Just before COVID, we had the most inclusive economy in my lifetime," Scott said in the excerpt. "The lowest unemployment ever recorded for African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. The lowest for women in nearly 70 years. Wages were growing faster for the bottom 25% than the top 25%. That happened because Republicans focused on expanding opportunity for all Americans. We passed Opportunity Zones, criminal justice reform, and permanent funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities for the first time ever. We fought the drug epidemic, rebuilt our military, and cut taxes for working families and single moms like mine."

ABC News Political Director Rick Klein said that the president's address is a "critical moment" for Biden and an opportunity for him to talk directly to the American people about what he thinks the government could be doing on ABC News Live's "The Breakdown" Wednesday.

"I'm told he's gonna have a lot of personal language in there, a direct appeal to people about the things that government could be doing to help them live their lives, to end the pandemic, but also help their families--help them get jobs, help them take care of their loved ones," Klein said.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is set to rebut Biden's address with the argument that many of the successes of the Biden administration are a holdover from former President Donald Trump's pandemic response, according to excerpts from Scott's speech released Wednesday.

"This should be a joyful springtime for our nation," Scott said in the excerpt. "This administration inherited a tide that had already turned. The coronavirus is on the run! Thanks to Operation Warp Speed and the Trump administration, our country is flooded with safe and effective vaccines. Thanks to our bipartisan work last year, job openings are rebounding."

In another speech excerpt released by the White House this evening, Biden speaks directly to blue-collar workers in making his pitch for his infrastructure legislation.

"Now, I know some of you at home wonder whether these jobs are for you," Biden says. "You feel left behind and forgotten in an economy that’s rapidly changing. Let me speak directly to you. Independent experts estimate the American Jobs Plan will add millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic growth for years to come. These are good-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced."