Biden lays out plan for America 'on the move again' in address to Congress
Sen. Tim Scott delivered the Republican response to Biden's address.
On his 99th day in office, Biden made the case for his policy agenda and updated the nation in his first address to a joint session of Congress.
Biden finished his speech with a great message of hope for Americans who overcame a year of tumult, saying that he is "more confident or optimistic about America."
"Folks, as I told every world leader I ever met with over the years, it's never ever, ever been a good bet to bet against America and it still isn't," Biden said, to a great round of applause. "There is not a single thing, nothing, 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."
Sen. Tim Scott’s Republican response followed.
"Our president seems like a good man. His speech was full of good words," Scott said. "But three months in, the actions of the president and his party are pulling us further and further apart."
Following Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress, Vice President Kamala Harris will sit down for an exclusive interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday.
The latest:
Biden calls for $15 minimum wage
The president briefly turned to an initiative he has already failed to pass: a $15 minimum wage.
After much back-and-forth on Capitol Hill, the Senate parliamentarian ultimately ruled this provision could not be passed under budget reconciliation rules, and was dropped from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
Biden, apparently, thinks the fight isn't over... despite the fact he will never get 10 Republicans to join Democrats in the Senate to pass it.
"And by the way, while you’re thinking about sending things to my desk, [chuckles] let's raise the minimum wage to $15," Biden said. "No one, no one working 40 hours a week, no one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line."
Once again nodding to the historic pair of women behind him, Biden called on Congress to pass the Equal Pay Act.
"We need to ensure greater equity and opportunity for women. And while we're doing this, let's get the Paycheck Fairness Act to my desk as well. Equal pay. It's been much too long.
And if you wonder whether it’s too long, look behind you," Biden added.
-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky
Biden tasks Harris to lead infrastructure push
Biden asked Vice President Kamala Harris to take the lead on his infrastructure, saying that if she does he knows, "it will get done."
Harris, who already has the monumental task of addressing the root causes of migration on her plate, nodded in the background.
Biden cast his infrastructure bill as a jobs plan, calling it the biggest jobs plan since World War II.
"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," Biden said in another strong line that elicited loud cheers.
-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky
Emotional Biden calls for end to cancer
Biden grew emotional as he discussed research to fight diseases like Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer. He talked about his moonshot proposal and mentioned his son Beau, who lost his battle to brain cancer in 2015.
"I know of nothing that is more bipartisan, so let's end cancer as we know it," Biden said. "It is within our power. It's within our power to do it."
Biden asks Congress to support right to unionize
Biden called on Congress to pass Protect the Right to Organize Act "so we can support the right to unionize."
"Wall Street didn't build this country. The middle class built the country—and unions built the middle class!"
Scott to criticize Biden economy in GOP response
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."