Biden makes his case for $1.8T family plan
US ‘turning peril into possibility,’ president says to Congress Harris to visit on administration’s 100th day
On the Biden administration’s 100th day Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Baltimore to tout COVID-19 vaccination and recovery efforts and pitch massive jobs and family aid packages that will be considered by a sharply divided Congress.
Harris, who based her headquarters in Baltimore when she was a Democratic presidential candidate, is to appear in the city the day after President Joe Biden made his first joint address to Congress.
Harris was expected to promote the administration’s continued vaccination push — an effort that has led to 200 million doses being administered, but which has seen Black and Hispanic people vaccinated at lower rates than their shares of the populations of many states and localities.
As of Wednesday, the Maryland Department of Health reported about 31.5% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated. Almost 43% of the population has received at least
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden declared Wednesday night in his first address to a joint session of Congress that “America is rising anew” on the verge of overcoming the historic pandemic. Looking to the future, he urged a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that would fundamentally transform roles the government plays in American life.
Biden marked his first 100 days in office as the nation emerges from a menacing mix of crises, making his case before a pared-down gathering of mask-wearing legislators because of pandemic restrictions. The speech took place in a setting unlike any other presidential address in the familiar venue, the U.S. Capitol still surrounded by fencing after insurrectionists in January protesting his election stormed to the doors of the House chamber where he gave his address.
The nationally televised ritual of a president standing before Congress for the first time was one of the most watched moments of Biden’s presidency, raising the stakes for his ability to sell his plans to voters of both parties, even if Republican lawmakers prove resistant.
“America is ready for takeoff. We are working again. Dreaming again. Discovering again. Leading the world again. We have shown each other and the world: There is no quit in America,” Biden said. “100 days ago, America’s house was on fire. We had to act.”
This year’s scene at the front of the House chamber had a historic look: For the first time, a female vice president, Kamala Harris, was seated behind the chief executive. And she was next to another woman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both clad in pastel.
The first ovation came as Biden greeted, “Madam Vice President.” He added “No president has ever said those words from this podium, and it’s about
one vaccine dose.
Among the 1.9 million people fully vaccinated, about 22% are Black, though they make up about a third of the state’s population. Just over 5% of those fully vaccinated are Hispanic, though they make up more than 10% of the population.
In March, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan unveiled a plan to improve the equitable distribution of vaccines, including working with churches and community groups that request clinics in their neighborhoods.
The vice president is expected to go Thursday to the mass vaccination site at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, where Hogan plans to join her, according to his spokesman, Mike Ricci.
Hogan called the site Wednesday “a perfect example of a very well-run vaccination center that we’re very proud of ... We’re going to be proud to show it off to her.” The site, where the NFL’s Ravens play their home games, is operated by the University of Maryland Medical System in partnership with the state and Maryland National Guard.
During his speech Wednesday night, Biden told mask-wearing members of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives that about 90% of Americans now live within 5 miles of a vaccination site.
“We’re vaccinating the nation. We’re creating hundreds of thousands of jobs,” the president said. But he cautioned: “There’s still more work to do to beat this virus. We can’t let our guard down now.”
Harris invited Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott to join her for Thursday’s visit to Baltimore, said Cal Harris, the mayor’s communications director.
Other elected officials planning on attending, according to their aides, include U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. They are Democrats.
The White House has not addressed why Baltimore was selected for Harris, a former U.S. senator and California attorney general, to appear on the administration’s milestone day.
City and state elected officials welcomed the March passage of Biden’s American Rescue Plan, a COVID-19 relief bill they clamored for after seeing revenues plunge because of the coronavirus pandemic. Baltimore is getting about $670 million in direct support, while the state is receiving about $4 billion, according to federal lawmakers. Congress passed the $1.9 trillion plan without any Republican votes.
In 2019, Harris located her primary campaign headquarters in a Baltimore office building. The campaign said Baltimore felt like a “sister city” to Oakland, California, where Harris grew up, and that both were vibrant cities facing challenges related to poverty and crime. Harris ended her presidential bid in December 2019, but was picked later to be Biden’s running mate. She is the first female vice president and woman of color to win that office.
In opening his speech Wednesday, Biden greeted Harris as “Madame Vice President” and adding: “No president has ever said those words from this podium, and it’s about time.” In addition to the rescue plan, the Biden administration now has an American Jobs Plan, which would raise corporate taxes to fund infrastructure improvements. Biden is also pitching an American Families Plan, a bill that focuses on child care, education and paid family leave.