US on the move again, says Biden

Washington, April 29: President Joe Biden triumphantly declared that the United States is “on the move again” in a rousing speech to Congress on Wednesday, calling for trillions of dollars to rebuild the post-pandemic US middle class and give new life to “forgotten” workers.

Lauding the success of mass vaccination against Covid-19, Biden told Congress and the nation on primetime television that “in America, we always get up.”

“America is ready for takeoff,” he said. “We are working again, dreaming again, discovering again, leading the world again.”

Biden, who was celebrating the eve of his 100th day in office, called the vaccine rollout one of “the greatest logistical achievements” in US history.

But Biden quickly pivoted to insisting that this national effort must now focus on rebuilding the economy and fighting inequality with “the largest jobs plan since World War II.”

In a line that could have come from his populist Republican predecessor Donald Trump, Biden said working-class Americans had been ignored, while the top one percent got richer, and that his plans would give them a chance.

“You feel left behind and forgotten in an economy that's rapidly changing. Let me speak directly to you,” Biden said, before going on to promise Americans “good-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced.”

In every aspect of the primetime television speech, Biden echoed his mantra that “America is back” — both in recovering from the Coronavirus disaster and in putting the turbulence of the Trump era behind. —