Biden’s State of the Union Will Preview Work to Come
When President Biden takes the stage for his first State of the Union address tonight, a range of issues, including Ukraine, a Supreme Court nominee, government funding and a reconciliation restart, will top his list of priorities, according to E&E News.
Psaki says Biden will speak on Ukraine: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki foreshadowed discussion of Ukraine in the speech, saying, “Leaders lead during crises. That’s exactly what President Biden is doing. He’ll speak to that, but he’s also going to speak about his optimism about what’s ahead and what we all have to look forward to.”
Climate: Climate activists hope President Biden will use the speech to push hard for more than $500 billion in clean energy spending—part of the reconciliation package that has been stalled since December.
Ukraine funding: Since Russia’s invasion last week, lawmakers from both parties have suggested sending military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) suggested a $10 billion aid package could be under consideration. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and other Republicans said that a bill could be expedited if it also seeks to bolster U.S. fossil fuel production, a proposal that Psaki and several Democrats have pushed back on.
Spending talks: Negotiations for a fiscal 2022 spending package are expected to pick up this week with lawmakers considering add-ons for domestic disaster aid and Ukraine help. Louisiana’s entire congressional delegation requested billions in aid to help the state recover from severe storms and floods. A bipartisan framework that calls for parity in domestic and defense spending is in place, and the deadline to pass the package is March 11.
Watch: NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons will deliver the 2022 NAM State of Manufacturing Address on Thursday, March 3, at 10:15 a.m. MST (12:15 p.m. EST) at Chandler-Gilbert Community College – Williams Campus in Mesa, Arizona. For more information and to watch the livestream, click here.