Getty President Joe Biden speaks during climate change virtual summit.
Tonight, President Joe Biden is delivering his first speech to a joint session of Congress at 9 p.m. Eastern. This is similar to a State of the Union address, but a President’s first-year speech is not referred to as a State of the Union. You can watch Biden’s speech in the embedded videos below. Some streams will start earlier than 9 p.m. We’ll provide multiple live streams below so you can choose which stream you’re most interested in watching.
Choose from Multiple Live Streams Below
Most of the live streams of Biden’s speech below will also include the Republicans’ official response, delivered by Sen. Tim Scott. The GOP response will happen after Biden completes his speech.
The first live stream is from NBC.
Because of the pandemic, only 200 members of Congress are attending the event tonight, Vox reported. In total there are 535 members of Congress (100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives.) But only 200 are invited to attend, due to a recommendation from the Capitol physician.
This next live stream is from PBS News Hour.
The only Cabinet members attending are the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, and only Chief Justice John Roberts will be attending from the Supreme Court, Vox reported. Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are still expected to be sitting behind Biden during his speech, however.
Here is a live stream from ABC News.
The official stream from The White House is below.
CSPAN’s stream is below.
What To Expect from Biden’s Speech
Biden is expected to talk about his America Jobs Plan and his America Families Plan, Vox reported. The America Jobs Plan would give $621 billion to infrastructure, such as railways and bridges, along with $300 billion to manufacturing. Biden would raise corporate taxes to 28% to help pay for the plan. The American Families Plan, meanwhile, would add up to $1.8 trillion for human infrastructure, like child care, tuition-free community colleges, paid family leave, and extending specific tax credits benefiting families.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden would also discuss the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, Vox reported. This calls for federal reforms such as demilitarizing police and expanding body camera usage and access.
He will also speak about the country’s need for unity, and working with Democrats and Republicans on his plans for the future. Biden will likely also speak about the coronavirus pandemic and the current progress of vaccinations in the United States.
After Biden speaks, Sen. Tim Scott will deliver the official response from the Republican Party. CNN reported that when it was announced that Scott would be delivering the response, he said in a statement: “We face serious challenges on multiple fronts, but I am as confident as I have ever been in the promise and potential of America. I look forward to having an honest conversation with the American people and sharing Republicans’ optimistic vision for expanding opportunity and empowering working families.”
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