President Biden baits Republicans into admitting that “Social Security and Medicare are off the books”
Photo Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP News
SNEHA PURI: President Biden delivered his annual State of the Union remarks on Tuesday night, speaking about the economy, healthcare, police reform, COVID-19, climate change and Ukraine in a 73-minute speech.
It was his first State of the Union address since the 2022 midterm elections, when the Republican Party gained nine seats and formed a majority in the House of Representatives, leading to a divided Congress as the Democrats still hold the Senate by a small margin.
President Biden started by congratulating various members from both parties, including the new Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. President Biden warmly shook the Speaker’s hand, and Speaker McCarthy smiled as the President said, “Speaker, I don’t want to ruin your reputation, but I look forward to working with you.”
President Biden spoke positively about the state of the economy, emphasizing his administration’s role in creating a historic number of new jobs, easing high inflation and lowering gas prices. Despite that, President Biden indicated that he does not believe his work is done by saying “let’s finish the job” ten times during his speech, an appeal for bipartisanship and a possible hint for another presidential run, though this will remain unknown for weeks.
The most memorable moment of the night came when President Biden accused “some” Republicans of wanting to “sunset Social Security and Medicare,” seemingly referring to Senator Rick Scott’s proposal that all federal legislation should have a sunset provision five years after it passes.
This statement was met with loud disapproval from Republicans in the House chamber. Speaker McCarthy shook his head and mouthed “No,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green shouted “Liar,” and many others jeered in disagreement.
The President didn’t seem jarred by the heckling. He smiled at the strong reaction, veered from his speech and engaged in real-time conversation with his disrupters, ad-libbing that he is being “polite” by not revealing the names of said Republicans but those who don’t believe him can “contact [his] office” for a “copy of the proposals”.
The President reiterated that he does not believe that this view is held by a significant proportion of Republicans. Nonetheless, he asserted that his party will not be “threatened to default on the debt” by using Social Security and Medicare as leverage. Reacting to the continued baulking from the Republicans, the President quipped that they “all apparently agree” that Social Security and Medicare are “off the books”. This was followed by a standing ovation from everyone, a rare moment of consensus in the chamber about the sanctity of these policies.
Another such show of unity came at a moving moment of the speech when the President commended Tyre Nichols’ parents’ “courage and character” — who were sitting next to the First Lady in the chamber — and pushed for police reform. President Biden, who himself has faced this tragedy, reflected that, “there are no words to describe the heartache of losing a child.”
In his speech, the President also announced that the state of public health emergency due to COVID-19 would gradually be lifted as the virus “no longer controls our lives.” He ended his speech by saying that he has “never been more optimistic about America's future,” a recurring sentiment in his presidency.
Sneha Puri is a staff writer for On the Record, focusing on American politics, policies, and elections. Currently a first-year Master of Public Policy student, she is originally from Hong Kong and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.