The State of the Union address has existed since the time of President George Washington, serving as a way for the president to communicate with Congress. Typically, the president will offer ideas and suggestions as to how Congress can better serve the American citizens. The first televised State of the Union address was given by President Harry Truman in 1947, and ever since, it has been watched by Americans across the country. Especially in times of unrest, this presidential address has served to reassure the nation and offer solutions to our problems. So, with the conflict in Ukraine causing many citizens to fear a global war, this year’s State of the Union was bound to be impactful. Below are the four main points that President Joseph Biden covered in his State of the Union Address last Tuesday, March 1st.

#1- Conflict in Ukraine:

   While Biden said that he and the rest of America stand with Ukraine, he made it clear that the United States will not be sending aid in the form of military support. Biden has, however, pledged to provide Ukraine with economic support, announcing that he has given the country $1 billion over the past year. American forces are going to be mobilized in the NATO countries to the west of Ukraine, such as Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Biden stated that his main goal at this time is to “protect American businesses and consumers”, cooperating with 30 other countries to take 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world. 30 million will be from America’s own Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Hopefully, this will be enough to keep oil prices low as one of the largest oil producers in the world becomes an international enemy. 

#2- Battling Inflation:

   Any American can see that inflation is driving up the price of virtually everything, from air fryers to t-shirts. President Biden states that although we have grown the economy and created more jobs, inflation is diminishing the effect. He wants there to be a focus on products made in the US so that Americans can support other Americans. Biden has also created a three-step plan in order to bring down inflation, starting with lowering the price of prescription drugs. Americans, on average, pay more for the same drug than any other country. Almost every recent president has tried to do this, but creating a cap on prescription drug costs would require 60 votes in the Senate. Biden’s next step is to cut household energy bills by $500 a year by using clean energy, like solar or wind power. He wants to provide tax credits and investments to families who choose to get their houses outfitted with solar panels or who make them more energy efficient. Finally, Biden wants to cut the cost of child care so that more people can return to the workforce. This, coupled with the infrastructure improvements that Biden has planned, could bring our economy back to a stable, pre-pandemic state.

#3- Moving Forward with COVID-19:

   The pandemic was, and still is, a challenge for us all. During the address, Biden laid out a four-step plan to help ease into “normal” life. First, he wants to keep on vaccinating until everyone has received a vaccine, and also to work on treatments to help keep COVID-positive individuals out of hospitals. Second, Biden wants to better the response to new variants, saying that he aims to be able to deploy new vaccines in 100 days if the variant does not respond to the current one. Third, the president wants to end shutdowns for schools and businesses in the hopes that it will make the environment much more like pre-pandemic life. Finally, Biden wants to get vaccines all around the world to decrease the number of global infection rates since those cases are often reflected in the US. 

#4- Unity:

   Unity has been a struggle for Americans as tough times and opposing views have all but torn us apart. In his address, President Biden presented (another) four-step plan to unite the US as one nation. First, he wants to beat the opioid epidemic by providing tools and funding as well as getting rid of rules prohibiting doctors from giving treatments. Second, he wants to “take on” mental health. Mental health has been an issue for many during the pandemic, especially children and teens whose lives have “been turned upside down” by shutdowns and fear. Third, Biden wants to support US veterans, particularly those suffering from health issues caused by the burn pits in Afghanistan. And fourth, Biden wants to “end cancer as we know it”. He states that cancer is the second leading cause of death in America, topped only by heart disease. Biden wants to be able to take cancer diagnoses from “death sentences into treatable diseases”. 

   All in all, President Biden wants the United States to come together and resolve issues that have been holding us back. As he said, “the State of the Union is strong—because you, the American people, are strong.”