US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday his decision to close US airspace to Russian airlines, as the European Union (EU) and Canada have also done.
“Tonight I am announcing that we will stand with our allies and close American airspace to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia,” Biden said to standing applause from those attending his first State of the Union address. before both chambers of the US Congress.
State of the Nation: “immigration reform must be a path to citizenship for dreamers”
Biden asked Congress on Tuesday to approve “once and for all” an immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country.
President Joe Biden addressed the country tonight in his first State of the Union address under the banner of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , inflation and rising prices that plague most Americans.
Biden asked Congress on Tuesday to approve “once and for all” an immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country.
During his State of the Union address, Biden also boasted of having gotten many countries in Central and South America to agree to “take in more refugees and keep their borders secure.”
INVASION OF UKRAINE
The president announced on Tuesday his decision to close US airspace to Russian airlines, as the European Union (EU) and Canada have also done.
“Tonight I am announcing that we will stand with our allies and close American airspace to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia,” Biden said to standing applause from those attending his first State of the Union address. before both chambers of the US Congress.
The president affirmed that his country will persecute the crimes of the Russian oligarchs and that for this the Department of Justice is forming a working group.
“We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private planes,” Biden said, addressing Russian oligarchs, in his first State of the Union address to both houses of Congress. from USA.
The president accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday of wanting to tear down “the foundations of the free world” with the invasion of Ukraine, but stressed that “freedom will always win over tyranny.”
Biden said Tuesday that his country’s forces are not seeking to confront Russian soldiers in Ukraine, despite their deployment to countries on NATO’s eastern flank.
“Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies, should Putin decide to move west,” Biden said.
INFLATION
Biden promised a plan to tackle inflation “by cutting costs, not wages.”
In his first State of the Union address, Biden said containing prices is his “top priority,” noting that his plan will not only cut high inflation, but also the public deficit.
The president of the United States defended “capitalism” on Tuesday, but warned that “without competition it is exploitation” and causes the increase in prices, criticizing the growing concentration of power of large companies.
“I am a capitalist. But capitalism without competition is not capitalism. It is exploitation, and it pushes prices up,” Biden said.
The president of the United States affirmed this Tuesday that the country is going to have “a decade of infrastructure.”
Biden referred to the $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan approved last November and assured that it will transform the country and put it on the path of “economic competition” in the 21st century, specifically with China.
“I have told Xi Jinping that it is never good to bet against the American people,” said the president, referring to his Chinese counterpart.
He assured that with this plan millions of jobs will be created for Americans, and roads, airports, ports and canals will be modernized.
He noted that his country used to have the best infrastructure in the world, but now ranks 13th in this area: “We won’t be able to compete for 21st century jobs if we don’t fix this.”
He mentioned investments in semiconductors and his commitment to new technologies such as electric vehicles to put the US in the economy of the future.
THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
The president affirmed this Tuesday that the country is moving forward “safely”, towards a certain normality in the pandemic.
“We have reached a new moment in the fight against COVID-19, with severe cases on the decline, to a level not seen since last July,” Biden said.
Biden indicated that, thanks to the progress the country has made in the last year, COVID-19 no longer controls the lives of Americans.
“I know that some are talking about living with COVID-19. Tonight I say that we will never accept living with COVID-19, we will continue to fight the virus, as we do with other diseases,” he said.
In this sense, he advanced that if the virus mutates and expands, the Government will remain vigilant; and he announced several “common sense steps” to move forward.
These measures include vaccination and treatments against COVID-19, as well as tests to detect the disease.
Biden announced an initiative called “Test to Treat” so that people can be tested for the virus at pharmacies and if they test positive, receive the antiviral pills in the same place at no cost.
In addition, he pointed out that if necessary his Government will “deploy” new doses of vaccines against COV ID-19 in a hundred days, instead of months or years.
“I can’t promise that there won’t be a new variant,” he added, “but I can promise you that we will do everything within our power to be prepared if necessary.”
On the way to normality, Biden considered that schools should be open because “children should be in school.”
Since mid-January, new cases of COVID-19 have plummeted in the US, after suffering a rebound due to the omicron variant.
On January 13, the country registered more than 897,000 new infections compared to 91,972 on February 28, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Faced with the reduction in infections, several states have lifted restrictions, such as the use of the mask in closed public places. And even during Biden’s speech on Tuesday, wearing a mask was optional on Capitol Hill, unlike last year.