Biden has been pushing Republicans to support a combined $4 trillion in spending for weeks, but he is prepared to back a congressional maneuver that would allow Senate Democrats to pass legislation without GOP support.
The president feels emboldened by Americans’ support for his proposals, including the popularity of the American Rescue Plan, saying his plans are already helping the U.S. come back from the pandemic-induced economic downturn. He is touting the 1.5 million new jobs and a drop in unemployment claims of more than a third, the lowest since the pandemic started.
“Covid cases are down. Covid deaths are down,” he said. “Unemployment filings are down. Hunger is down. Vaccinations are up. Jobs are up. Growth is up. People getting health coverage is up. Small-business confidence is up. Put it simply, America is coming back.”
Before the president left for Ohio, the White House released a new memo from senior adviser Mike Donilon with the subject line “The American People Stand Behind President Biden’s Middle Class Economic Vision.”
“As we turn the page on this dark chapter in America’s history, we stand at an inflection point about what kind of economy — and country — we want for ourselves and for future generations,” Donilon wrote. “The American people understand that the economy we had before the pandemic left far too many people behind, and that more and more families were finding that their grip on a middle class life — and the security it affords — was precarious. They know we can’t afford to simply turn the clock back to where we were.”
The White House touts 500,000 new jobs created each month on average, new unemployment claims dropping by nearly half and record-setting growth.
Before his speech, Biden visited the college’s tech center, where he learned about student certification programs and examined a robotic arm. Several dozen students, some masked, gathered to hear his speech. A large sign was erected on one side of the room saying “Blue Collar Blueprint for America.”
“We must be No. 1 in the world to lead the world in the 21st century,” Biden said. “It’s a simple proposition and the starting gun has already gone off.”
Republicans have been resistant to the size and scope of Biden’s pair of spending proposals: the American Jobs Plan, a sweeping $2.3 trillion package designed to fix the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges, create jobs, and tackle climate change; and the American Families Plan, a $1.8 trillion plan to fund Democratic priorities, including billions of dollars on child care, prekindergarten, paid family leave and tuition-free community college.
The White House on Friday reduced the size of its jobs plan to $1.7 trillion, largely by shifting spending elsewhere, but Republicans balked at the counteroffer. They reduced the amount to $928 billion on Thursday, up from their initial proposal of a $568 billion plan.
In Northeast Ohio, infrastructure funds would be spent to expand broadband access and replace lead pipes for cleaner drinking water, the White House says.