Biden outlines 'a fair shot' for the middle class in economic speech

Pres. Biden outlined his administration’s goal of raising taxes on the wealthy to strengthen the middle class and boost the economy.

Video transcript

SEANA SMITH: President Biden wrapping up his speech on the economic recovery just a few minutes ago. Now his focus was, of course, on leveling the playing field, pushing some of the Biden administration's economic agenda. We want to bring in Jessica Smith for the latest on that for us. Jess, what stood out to you?

JESSICA SMITH: Yeah, Seana. Well, President Biden was trying to build support for his economic plan while encouraging Congress to actually pass it and get this done. And Democrats are, of course, arguing over what this plan should look like. But the president also addressed much of the criticism that he's been facing from Republicans.

He contrasted his plan with the 2017 tax cuts that Republicans passed. He said that he wants to make sure that the richest people and the biggest corporations are paying their fair share. His plan, of course, is likely going to be paid for, in large part, by those tax hikes.

And he says the plan as a whole will benefit middle class Americans and actually reduce inflation with things like the child tax credit, lower child care costs. He stressed that the US is at an inflection point, which he says could change the trajectory of the nation for years to come. He says that the US should not just go back to the way things were before the pandemic but should use this moment to change things for the better. Let's watch.

JOE BIDEN: Each inflection point in this nation's history represents a fundamental choice. I believe that America, at this moment, is facing such a choice. And the choice is this-- are we going to continue with an economy where the overwhelming share of the benefits go to big corporations and the very wealthy? Or are we going to take this moment, right now, to set this country on a new path, one that invests in this nation, creates real sustained economic growth, and that benefits everyone?

JESSICA SMITH: We also heard the president defending his vaccine and/or testing requirements that he announced last week. Of course, he has faced quite a bit of criticism from many Republicans on that front. The president reiterating that he believes it is the best way to save lives, to get people back to work, and to reopen businesses.

But of course, Seana, he is going to need Congress for most of his economic agenda. He did say he was confident that he would have the bipartisan infrastructure plan and the reconciliation bill on his desk. We will see what they're able to get done in the weeks ahead as Democrats continue to try to figure out what exactly is going to be in those packages.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, Jess, lawmakers are facing a number of deadlines. You mentioned the fact that we have the infrastructure bill, also the reconciliation bill. And then, of course, we have the debt ceiling. And that's something that we were focusing on yesterday just in terms of what that could potentially look like, how important that is for the economy and the markets going forward. When it comes to the timing of all this, any idea of what this could potentially look like as we wait for some of these events to unfold over the next couple of weeks?

JESSICA SMITH: Yeah, it's going to be a hectic few weeks here in Washington, I think that's safe to say. We have September 27 coming up. That is the date that Speaker Pelosi promised moderates they would take up the bipartisan infrastructure bill. But you also have progressives saying they won't vote for that until they consider the reconciliation bill.

But they're still working on getting that bill put together. The House is going to try to take all of the individual pieces of legislation and put it into one next week. Of course, they still have to debate with the Senate. The government is set to run out of money at the end of the month, so they're dealing with a government shutdown. The House is set to start putting together, start thinking about a short-term spending bill to keep the government open next week.

And then, of course, as you mentioned, you have the debt ceiling. We think that we'll hit the debt ceiling at some point in October. The timing is pretty uncertain there. And Republicans have really dug in and said they are not going to vote to address the debt limit.

They are leaving that to Democrats. Democrats say it should be bipartisan. So that is a big standoff that we're going to be watching over the next couple weeks. So a lot to get done here. Again, you heard the president say he's confident, but we'll see what happens.

SEANA SMITH: All right. Jessica Smith, certainly not the last on this. So we, of course, will continue to get updates from you. Thanks so much for bringing us the latest.