Transcript - Remarks: Joe Biden Addresses a Virtual DNC Fundraising Event - November 9, 2021 | Factba.se

Joe Biden

00:00:00 - 00:00:13 ()

Well, Eddie, thank you. I tell you what: You have me as your President. You know, I -- I notice Scranton acted first; they have an exit -- the Joe Biden Parkway. [Laughs]

Joe Biden

00:00:13 - 00:00:35 ()

So, I tell you what -- and, Ed, I know you'll believe this, but when I -- I'm going to get in trouble with my folks in Delaware -- but on Election Night, I wanted to get one election result: how I did in Scranton. And I won every precinct, Eddie. So, my mom is looking down; she's smiling.

Joe Biden

00:00:35 - 00:00:45 ()

But look, thanks for your friendship more than anything else. And -- and, Ken, thank you as well. It's been wonderful to see so many friends. And I want to thank you all for your incredible support.

Joe Biden

00:00:45 - 00:00:59 ()

You know, because of you guys -- and you started it all -- I never thought I could even remotely raise enough money to be competitive with the Trump Organization, and we raised an incredible amount of money for me. And it put me in the game.

Joe Biden

00:00:59 - 00:01:15 ()

And Kamala and I were sent here by the American people to deliver, and that's what we're trying to do. You know, after -- as I said jokingly, when I announced it -- after years of "Infrastructure Week," we finally followed through and just passed a monumental piece of legislation.

Joe Biden

00:01:15 - 00:01:36 ()

It's going to create millions of jobs -- and that's not just me; that's coming from Wall Street as well as think tanks -- and to grow our economy to make us more competitive and take a giant step forward on dealing with the climate crisis -- over half a billion dollars -- more than that -- in terms of dealing with the climate crisis: electric vehicles, charging stations, a whole range of things.

Joe Biden

00:01:36 - 00:01:50 ()

It's the most significant investment in passenger rail in the past 50 years, the most significant investment in bridges and roads in our states in the last 70 years, and the most significant investment in public transit ever.

Joe Biden

00:01:50 - 00:02:01 ()

We're going to modernize our ports, our airports, freight rail, and to make it easy for companies to get their goods to market, reduce supply chain bottlenecks, and lower the cost to working families.

Joe Biden

00:02:01 - 00:02:08 ()

We're going to replace lead pipes in every -- so every American can drink clean water. And that'll take -- going to cost several billion dollars.

Joe Biden

00:02:08 - 00:02:13 ()

And every American is going to have access to high-speed Internet, because a lot of them don't right now.

Joe Biden

00:02:13 - 00:02:27 ()

We're going to see new fleets of electric vehicles and school buses, a national network of charging stations, so -- so -- so you can charge up and drive all the way across the country with your kids and not worry about whether you're having -- not going to be able to charge again.

Joe Biden

00:02:27 - 00:02:33 ()

And there's so much more. But the bottom line is the legislation is going to change the lives of the American people.

Joe Biden

00:02:33 - 00:02:45 ()

And they expected us to deliver when they elected us, and we did. And now we need to do it again with the Build Back Better Initiative for struggling families with childcare, eldercare. And it's going to be a life-changer.

Joe Biden

00:02:45 - 00:02:58 ()

There's 2 million women who can't get back to work because they have to deal with childcare -- or eldercare, for that matter -- the sandwich generation getting caught between both. And it's going to be good for them and their families and for the economy.

Joe Biden

00:02:58 - 00:03:29 ()

There's universal pre-K -- three and four years old, as you mentioned, Ed -- it's going to increase academic achievement. It's estimated by some of the great universities in the country studying this the last 10 years that it's going to increase the prospect of a kid coming from a -- from a home where they don't have books or they haven't heard that many words -- they're going to put them in a position to compete with every other child in America, increasing by 56 percent the chance they'll get all the way through 12 years of school and go on to beyond high school.

Joe Biden

00:03:29 - 00:03:50 ()

And we're going to lower the prescription drug costs, cut taxes for working people and middle class -- by the way, this bill doesn't cost a cent. We're going to -- you know, and together with the infrastructure bill, we're going to make significant investments on the most significant -- significant investment ever in dealing with the climate crisis and turn it into an opportunity in a jobs bill.

Joe Biden

00:03:50 - 00:03:59 ()

And all this is paid for by making sure that big corporations start to pay their fair share. There are 52 who -- 55 didn't pay a cent and made $40 billion.

Joe Biden

00:03:59 - 00:04:08 ()

You know, it's not just them, but you guys both know, you all know I'm a capitalist; I'm not a socialist. But it's about time everybody just pay a little bit, pay their fair share.

Joe Biden

00:04:08 - 00:04:35 ()

It's fair, it's fiscally responsible, and it's paid for -- plus one more thing: It extends the refundable Child Care Tax Credit I put in the American Rescue Plan that passed months ago, which has helped some 60 million children -- 60 million children. It helped cut child poverty in America by more than 40 percent this year. It's one of the things I'm most proud of. And we have -- and we've had some -- some big news in the last few days.

Joe Biden

00:04:35 - 00:05:07 ()

And a COVID vaccine for children ages 5 to 12 has been approved. And it's going to give millions of American parents peace of mind. And it means we now have the tools to combat COVID-19. We have vaccine, booster shots, and, soon, an antiviral pill that's going to prevent severe illness or death once you -- if someone hadn't been va- -- you guys still got to get vaccinated, but if you hadn't been vaccinated and you get sick, this is going to keep you from being hospitalized or dying. And that's critical not only for public health but for our economy as well.

Joe Biden

00:05:07 - 00:05:26 ()

You know, just last week, we reported 500,000 jobs were created last month. And they upped the jobs number created in July and August by 250,000 or thereabouts. The job creation for the previous two months, it was adjusted upwards, and several hundre- -- 200-and-some-thousand jobs.

Joe Biden

00:05:26 - 00:05:37 ()

And it means, over the course of my presidency, we will have created 5 million jobs -- new jobs -- so far. It's the largest number of jobs any President has ever created up to this point in their presidency.

Joe Biden

00:05:37 - 00:05:55 ()

Now, I know a lot of folks are -- don't feel that progress out there, that we're making in the economy. I get it. I know the cost of gasoline and groceries and rent seems to be harder and harder to handle that. But that's all the more reason why we have to pass the Build Back Better plan.

Joe Biden

00:05:55 - 00:06:15 ()

Seventeen Nobel laureates in the economy have -- have spontaneously contacted us and told us and put out a national statement that my plan, they said, will ease inflationary pressures, not create them. And for those Americans who are focused on the cost of living, it's even more important to pass this legislation.

Joe Biden

00:06:15 - 00:06:23 ()

And there's so much more to do: voting rights, immigration, the courts, building on the Affordable Care Act, protecting women's right to choose, and so much more.

Joe Biden

00:06:23 - 00:06:37 ()

My message is this: We need to remember what got us to the White House in the first place. We won in 2020 because of you all but also because we had at that time, at the end of the day, a unified party -- more unified than ever.

Joe Biden

00:06:37 - 00:06:49 ()

Now, as we look to 2022, we have to stay united. We need to remember that the American people sent us here to deliver, to make their lives better, and when we do, to explain it to them.

Joe Biden

00:06:49 - 00:07:03 ()

I'm going to close with this: Not only Americans -- are the American people watching, the world is watching. I met with the vast majority of the world leaders so far -- in person mostly, but also on Zoom. I just returned from the G20 and COP26 in Europe.

Joe Biden

00:07:03 - 00:07:14 ()

And the question the world is asking: Is America really back? They see the polarization. They see the attacks of January the 6th. And they're asking if American democracy can deliver.

Joe Biden

00:07:14 - 00:07:17 ()

My answer is: Not only can we deliver, we have to deliver.

Joe Biden

00:07:17 - 00:07:30 ()

This is truly an inflection point in our nation. Both Putin and Xi Jinping have indicated to me that they don't think democracies can work in the 21st century because it takes too long to arrive at a consensus; that's why autocracies are going to win the day.

Joe Biden

00:07:30 - 00:07:52 ()

But, look, we're meeting some of the most important challenges head on we've ever faced. We're pulling out of a pandemic that has taken 750,000 lives and pulling our economy off its -- you know, and we're pulling our economy back off its back. We're rebuilding the backbone of this nation, giving working people a fighting chance.

Joe Biden

00:07:52 - 00:08:04 ()

We can -- confronting the existential threat of climate change. And we're defending and protecting the very democracy. And it's up to us -- our country, our planet, our democracy. They're all in our hands. They're all in our hands.

Joe Biden

00:08:04 - 00:08:15 ()

If you continue to support me and the Democratic Party, I think we can do this, but it's not going to be easy. But I'm talking too long. I'm taking too much of your time. I want to hear what you got on your mind.

Joe Biden

00:08:15 - 00:08:20 ()

But I want to thank you, and I really mean it -- God bless you all for your help. It really matters.