Transcript - Remarks: Joe Biden Discusses the Bipartisan Budget Amendment and Debt Limit - June 2, 2023 | Factba.se

Joe Biden

00:00:00 - 00:00:17 ()

My fellow Americans, when I ran for President, I was told the days of bipartisanship were over and that Democrats and Republicans could no longer work together. But I refused to believe that, because America can never give into that way of thinking.

Joe Biden

00:00:17 - 00:00:31 ()

Look, the only way American democracy can function is through compromise and consensus, and that's what I worked to do as your President -- you know, to forge a bipartisan agreement where it's possible and where it's needed.

Joe Biden

00:00:31 - 00:00:46 ()

I've signed more than 350 bipartisan laws thus far in almost two and a half years, including a historic law that -- rebuilding America so that we can rank number one in the world in infrastructure instead of where we're ranked now, number thirteen in the world.

Joe Biden

00:00:46 - 00:00:58 ()

Another historic law, rebuilding our manufacturing base so that we'll lead the world once again in making semiconductor chips so much more -- and so many more and so many sophisticated ones.

Joe Biden

00:00:58 - 00:01:17 ()

And now, a bipartisan budget agreement. This is vital because -- it's because it's essential to the progress we've made over the last few years -- is keeping full, faith, and credit of the United States of America and passing a budget that continues to grow our economy and reflects our values as a nation.

Joe Biden

00:01:17 - 00:01:25 ()

That's why I'm speaking to you tonight: to report on the crisis averted and what we're doing to protect America's future.

Joe Biden

00:01:25 - 00:01:30 ()

Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher.

Joe Biden

00:01:30 - 00:01:48 ()

If we had failed to reach an agreement on the budget, there were extreme voices threatening to take America, for the first time in our 247-year history, into default on our national debt. Nothing -- nothing would have been more irresponsible. Nothing would have been more catastrophic.

Joe Biden

00:01:48 - 00:01:59 ()

Our economy would've been thrown into recession. Retirement accounts for millions of Americans would've been dec--- been decimated. Eight million Americans would have lost their jobs.

Joe Biden

00:01:59 - 00:02:19 ()

Default would have been -- ha- -- have destroyed our nation's credit rating, which would have made everything from mortgages to car loans to funding for the government much more expensive. And it would have taken years to climb out of that hole. And America's standing as the most trusted, reliable financial partner in the world would have been shattered.

Joe Biden

00:02:19 - 00:02:25 ()

So it was critical to reach an agreement. And it's very good news for the American people.

Joe Biden

00:02:25 - 00:02:34 ()

No one got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed. We averted an economic crisis, an economic collapse.

Joe Biden

00:02:34 - 00:02:38 ()

We're cutting spending and bringing the deficits down at the same time.

Joe Biden

00:02:38 - 00:02:49 ()

We're protecting important priorities, from Social Security, to Medicare, to Medicaid, to veterans, to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.

Joe Biden

00:02:49 - 00:03:07 ()

I want to commend Senator -- Speaker McCarthy. You know, he and I, we -- and our teams -- we were able to get along and get things done. We were straightforward with one another, completely honest with one another, and respectful with one another. Both sides operated in good faith. Both sides kept their word.

Joe Biden

00:03:07 - 00:03:23 ()

And I also want to commend other congressional leaders: House Minority Leader Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Senate Minority Leader McConnell. They acted responsibly and put the good of the country ahead of politics.

Joe Biden

00:03:23 - 00:03:29 ()

The final vote in both chambers was overwhelming, far more bar- -- bipartisan than anyone thought was possible.

Joe Biden

00:03:29 - 00:03:37 ()

So, I want to thank the members of Congress who voted to pass this agreement, which I'm going to sign tomorrow and become the law.

Joe Biden

00:03:37 - 00:03:39 ()

So here's what the deal does:

Joe Biden

00:03:39 - 00:03:56 ()

First, it cuts spending. And over the next 10 years, the deficit will be cut by more than $1 trillion. And that will be on top of the record 1.7 trillion -- $1.7 trillion I already cut the deficit in my first two years in office.

Joe Biden

00:03:56 - 00:04:14 ()

And it's clear: We're all on a much more fiscally responsible course than the one I inherited when I took office four years ago. When I came to office, the deficit had increased every year the previous four years. And nearly $8 trillion was added to the national debt in the last administration.

Joe Biden

00:04:14 - 00:04:18 ()

And now we're turning things around, and that's good for America.

Joe Biden

00:04:18 - 00:04:29 ()

You know, my dad used to have an expression. He said, "Joey, don't tell me what you value. Show me your budget; I'll tell you what you value." And that's at the heart of this debate: What do we value?

Joe Biden

00:04:29 - 00:04:49 ()

Protecting seniors. You may remember, during my State of the Union Address there were a spir- -- there was a spirited exchange between me and a few Republicans spontaneously occurring on the floor of the House of Representatives. I was pointing out that, for years, some of them were putting forward proposals to cut Social Security and Medicare.

Joe Biden

00:04:49 - 00:04:55 ()

And some of them that night took exception, and they said very loudly that that wasn't true.

Joe Biden

00:04:55 - 00:05:18 ()

So I asked them on the House that night. I said -- asked them a simple question: Will you agree not to cut Social Security and not to cut Medicare? Would they agree to protect these essential programs that are a lifeline for millions of Americans? Programs that these Americans have been paying into every single pay check they've earned since they started working and that provide so much peace of mind.

Joe Biden

00:05:18 - 00:05:33 ()

With the bright lights and cameras on, those few Republicans who were protesting, they agreed. They said they wouldn't cut it. That's how we protected Social Security and Medicare from the beginning and from it being cut, period.

Joe Biden

00:05:33 - 00:05:50 ()

Healthcare was another priority for me -- a top priority. I made it clear from the outset I would not agree to any cuts in Medicaid -- another essential lifeline for millions of Americans, including children in poverty, the elderly in nursing homes, and Americans living with disabilities.

Joe Biden

00:05:50 - 00:06:04 ()

Hou- -- the Hou- -- the original House Republican proposal would have cut healthcare for up to 21 million Americans on Medicaid, and I said no. And [DEL: Medicare :DEL] [Medicaid] was protected and so were millions of people most in need.

Joe Biden

00:06:04 - 00:06:19 ()

Look, I've long believed that the only one truly sacred obligation that the government has is to prepare those we send into harm's way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don't come home.

Joe Biden

00:06:19 - 00:06:32 ()

That's why my last budget provided VA hospitals with additional funding for more doctors, nurses, and equipment to accommodate the needs of veterans and more appointments.

Joe Biden

00:06:32 - 00:06:42 ()

The House Republican plan would have meant 30 fewer million VA healthcare visits for our veterans. But we didn't let that happen.

Joe Biden

00:06:42 - 00:07:00 ()

In addition, this bill fully funds the bipartisan PACT Act, the most significant law in decades for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits and for their families. It expands access to those veterans and their families to healthcare and to disability benefits.

Joe Biden

00:07:00 - 00:07:04 ()

Look, we're investing in America and in our people and in our future.

Joe Biden

00:07:04 - 00:07:11 ()

We've created over 13 million new jobs, nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs.

Joe Biden

00:07:11 - 00:07:15 ()

Where is it written that America can't lead the world again in manufacturing?

Joe Biden

00:07:15 - 00:07:22 ()

Unemployment is at 3.7 percent. More Americans are working today than ever in the history of this country.

Joe Biden

00:07:22 - 00:07:27 ()

And inflation has dropped 10 straight months in a row.

Joe Biden

00:07:27 - 00:07:40 ()

In this debate, I refused to put what was responsible for all this economic progress on the chopping block. This bipartisan agreement protects the law that will help us build the best infrastructure in the world.

Joe Biden

00:07:40 - 00:08:03 ()

It fully protects the CHIPS and Science Act, which is going to bring key parts of our supply chain to America so we don't have to rely on others -- like semiconductors, those tiny computer chips smaller than the tip of your finger that affect nearly everything we rely on, from cellphones to having -- building automobiles, to the most sophisticated weapons systems, and so much more.

Joe Biden

00:08:03 - 00:08:20 ()

We protected another law that I passed and signed last year that finally beat Big Pharma, which I've been trying to do for over 30 years. It finally gives Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, just like the VA has been able to do for veterans.

Joe Biden

00:08:20 - 00:08:29 ()

This law has already dramatically cut the cost of insulin for seniors from as much as $400 a month to just $35 a month for insulin.

Joe Biden

00:08:29 - 00:08:48 ()

Negotiating lower drug prices not only saves seniors a lot of money, it saves the country a lot of money -- $160 billion that is not having to be paid out, because we have drug prices that are more rational. We pay the highest drug prices of any industrial nation in the world.

Joe Biden

00:08:48 - 00:08:50 ()

And it's just the beginning.

Joe Biden

00:08:50 - 00:08:57 ()

You know, we also protected the most significant breakthrough ever -- ever -- in dealing with the exis- -- existential threat of climate change.

Joe Biden

00:08:57 - 00:09:03 ()

Today, new wind and solar power is cheaper than fossil fuel.

Joe Biden

00:09:03 - 00:09:22 ()

Since I've been in office, clean energy and advanced manufacturing have brought in $470 billion in private investments. That's going to create thousands of jobs -- good-paying jobs -- all across this country and help the environment at the same time.

Joe Biden

00:09:22 - 00:09:32 ()

And remember, at the beginning of this debate, some of my Republican colleagues were determined to gut the clean energy investments. And I said no, and we kept them all.

Joe Biden

00:09:32 - 00:09:47 ()

And there's one -- and there's so much more to do. We're going to do even more to reduce the deficit. We need to control spending if we're going to do that. But we also have to raise revenue and go after tax cheats and make sure everybody is paying their fair share.

Joe Biden

00:09:47 - 00:09:55 ()

No one -- and I promise no one making less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in federal taxes.

Joe Biden

00:09:55 - 00:10:06 ()

But like most of you at home, I know the federal tax system isn't fair. That's why I kept my commitment, again, that no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in federal taxes.

Joe Biden

00:10:06 - 00:10:31 ()

That's why last year I secured more funding to go -- more IRS funding to go after wealthy tax cheats. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office -- and it is nonpartisan -- says that this bill will bring in $150 billion, and other outside experts expect that it would save as much as $400 billion, because it's forcing people to pay their fair share.

Joe Biden

00:10:31 - 00:10:37 ()

Republicans may not like it, but I'm going to make sure the wealthy pay their fair share.

Joe Biden

00:10:37 - 00:10:50 ()

I'm also proposed closing over a dozen special interest tax loopholes for Big Oil, crypto traders, hedge fund billionaires -- saving taxpayers billions of dollars.

Joe Biden

00:10:50 - 00:11:02 ()

Republicans -- Republicans defended every single one of these special interest loopholes. Every single one. But I'm going to be coming back. And with your help, I'm going to win.

Joe Biden

00:11:02 - 00:11:13 ()

Right now -- catch this: Right now, the average billionaire in America pays just 8 percent in federal taxes. Eight percent. Teachers and firefighters pay more than that.

Joe Biden

00:11:13 - 00:11:21 ()

That's why I proposed a minimum tax for billionaires. Republicans are against it, but I'm going to keep fighting for it.

Joe Biden

00:11:21 - 00:11:26 ()

No billionaire should pay less in federal taxes than a teacher or firefighter.

Joe Biden

00:11:26 - 00:11:46 ()

Look, let me close with this. I know bipartisanship is hard and unity is hard, but we can never stop trying, because in moments like this one -- the ones we just faced, where the American economy and the world economy is at risk of collapsing -- there is no other way.

Joe Biden

00:11:46 - 00:12:10 ()

No matter how tough our politics gets, we need to see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans. Treat each other with dignity and respect. To join forces as Americans to stop shouting, lower the temperature, and work together to pursue progress, secure prosperity, and keep the promise of America for everybody.

Joe Biden

00:12:10 - 00:12:23 ()

As I've said in my inaugural address, without unity there is no peace, only bitterness and fu- -- and fury. And we can never become that country.

Joe Biden

00:12:23 - 00:12:40 ()

I can honestly say -- I can honestly say to you tonight that I've never been more optimistic about America's future. We just need to remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there's nothing -- nothing we can't do when we do it together.

Joe Biden

00:12:40 - 00:12:44 ()

I thank you all for listening, taking the time tonight to listen to me.

Joe Biden

00:12:44 - 00:12:47 ()

May God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.

Joe Biden

00:12:47 - 00:12:51 ()