Biden To Pitch Climate Agenda, Revival Of “Build Back Better” During First State Of The Union Address

Beginning at 2100ET on Tuesday, President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address (newly elected presidents don’t deliver a SOTU during the year in which they first take office). According to a summary of his planned remarks released by the White House Sunday night, it appears Biden appears to focus on domestic issues, while media reports have claimed that he will discuss the steps his administration has taken to sanction Russia.

On the domestic side, Biden’s main goal will be pitching a revival of his domestic agenda, which collapsed after Sen. Joe Manchin effectively killed Biden’s “Build Back Better” infrastructure plan in the Senate.

Some of the key issues raised in the outline include fighting inflation (or “reducing the cost of everyday expenses working families face”), the administration’s crackdown on corporate power and influence (or “promoting fair competition to lower prices, help small businesses thrive, and protect consumers”), helping revive America’s unions (“enacting the Protecting the Right to Organize Act”), raising the federal minimum wage to $15, and “a national comprehensive paid family and medical leave program”.

Citing sources from inside the White House, Bloomberg reported Monday that Biden plans to pitch his stalled climate legislation, framing it as “a way to battle inflation and save the average American family $500 per year”. Although convincing ordinary working Americans to care about climate change is certainly a tall order.

BBG also acknowledged that Biden is making his pitch at a time when his approval ratings have “dropped precipitously”. We noted the other day that, according to one popular poll (the ABC/Washington Post poll), Biden’s approval rating has fallen to a fresh all-time low of 37%.

Source: ABC News

On the climate change front, Biden’s claim that his green energy initiatives will save families money is based on calculations from “the Rhodium Group”. Biden also plans to discuss how $47 billion in climate change funding from last year’s infrastructure bill is being deployed.

The proposal comes after Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better economic package – which included tax credits for renewable power and clean energy manufacturing – stalled in Congress.

The administration’s estimate of savings is based on an analysis by the Rhodium Group last October that said clean energy tax credits, investments in efficiency and other changes necessary to pare U.S. greenhouse gas emissions will help consumers financially. According to Rhodium’s assessment, households would save roughly $500 a year in energy costs in 2030, under a mix of federal regulations, state actions and congressional legislation.

It represents a sop to climate activists, who have been pressuring the administration to frame the fight against climate change as something that could save American families money.

For years, environmental advocates have urged politicians to frame the fight against climate change as something that can yield big economic dividends. Biden will embrace that narrative in his speech, linking tax credits for renewable power and electric vehicles with household savings.

Circling back to Biden’s domestic agenda, it appears he plans to avoid using the word “inflation”, referring instead to “price increases” while he tries to revive support for his flagging domestic agenda.

On the Russia front, NPR reports that Biden plans to discuss the steps his administration has taken to threaten the financial stability of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He’s also expected to talk about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, his pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated to the country’s highest court.

Another aspect of his plan for fighting inflation is to make American industry “more competitive” in an effort to drive down prices (ironically, his agenda also includes plans to raise wages, which would likely have the opposite effect).

Here’s what the administration’s summary said about “promoting fair competition to lower prices”.

President Biden will explain that we can also lower costs by promoting fair competition in the U.S. economy. The Administration has taken decisive actions in the first year to stop the trend of corporate consolidation, increase competition, and deliver concrete benefits to America’s consumers, workers, farmers, and small businesses. He will also announce new actions the Biden-Harris Administration is taking this year to tackle some of the most pressing competition and consumer protection problems across our economy. Specifically, he will announce new steps to:

And in addition to paycheck fairness, Biden also plans to announce more assistance for low-income students trying to go to college.

Providing up to more than $2,000 in additional assistance to low-income students by increasing the Pell Grant award. President Biden will note that broad access to education beyond high school is increasingly important for economic growth and competitiveness in the 21st century, but also remind us that higher education has become unaffordable for too many families. Over 6 million students depend on Pell Grants to finance their education, yet the amount of money in these grants has not kept up with the rising cost of college and DREAMers still do not have access. During his State of the Union Address, President Biden will call on Congress to increase the maximum Pell Grant award by more than $2,000.

Finally,  here’s what Deutsche Bank said about the State of the Union:

While not everything in the document will eventually become policy, it is a useful barometer of the administration’s current thinking. In short, Biden plans to champion the historically strong economic recovery while unveiling a plan to help slow inflation, which includes making American manufacturing jobs more productive and competitive, strengthening domestic supply chains, requesting legislation that reduces costs of health care, energy, and education, reducing the deficit, promoting competition, and eliminate barriers to jobs.

Biden is also reportedly expected to discuss his administration’s efforts to roll back COVID-inspired measures, like the CDC’s new masking guidance.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa will deliver the GOP response to the SOTU, and Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan representative and member of the ultra-liberal “squad” will deliver a rebuttal from the progressive left, a new SOTU tradition of the Democratic party.

Meanwhile, here are what Biden voters thought were his greatest accomplishments over the last year…

“Well… he’s not a Republican.”