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Reported speech flashcards.

Here's a set of flashcards to present reported speech structures in ESL classes. The whole set is divided into three groups as reporting statements, reporting questions and reporting imperatives , which will help students identify the different structures used with reported speech. The sentences are written in the theme of nature and the environment . The example sentences of reported speech which accompanies the pictures are given below.

The sentences in reported speech are accompanied by descriptive and interesting pictures to attract students interests. Each reported speech AKA indirect speech is first shown indirect  speech.  The necessary changes are highlighted with different colours indirect speech sentence, which will clarify what is needed to change step by step.  

Example Sentences of Reported Speech

Reporting statements.

Tom:″I saw our house on fire in my dream last night.″ >>> Tom said he had seen their house on fire in his dream the previous night.

John:″My sister has sprained her ankle because of her high heels many times. ″  >>> John said his sister had sprained her ankle because of her high heels many times.

My father:″Somebody is going to fall.″ >>> My father warns us that somebody is going to fall.

Eric: ″A lightning strike can cause a fire in a house. ″ >>> Eric tells/told us that a lightning strike can cause a fire in a house.

Reporting Questions

Adam asked the boy:″Why are you crying?″ >>> Adam asked the boy why he was crying.

Adam asked me:″What happened to your brother?″ >>> Adam asked me what had happened to my brother.

Kate:″Have you used a plaster?″ >>> Kate wanted to learn whether I had used a plaster.

Reporting Imperatives

My mother:″Be careful on these stairs!″ >>> My mother told me to be careful on those stairs.

My mother:″Be careful when you walk on these stairs!″ >>> My mother told me to be careful when I walked on those stairs.″

Kid’s mother:″Don't just dance!″  >>>  Kid’s mother ordered her kids not to just dance.

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ESL Activities

ESL Games, Activities, Lesson Plans, Jobs & More

in Listening · Reading · Speaking

Reported Speech Games, Activities, Worksheets and Lesson Plans

If you’re looking for some of the best reported speech games and activities, then you’re certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for our top picks, along with worksheets, lesson plans and more.

Reported speech activities

ESL Reported Speech Games

Let’s get into the best activities and games for English learners.

#1: Reported Speech Board Game

I love to play board games in real life which is why I also like to play them with my students! It’s super easy to make your own to use for just about any grammatical point, including this concept.

In this case, fill the board with a bunch of statements like the following:

• Sister-has boyfriend
• Friend-fired from job
• Dad-playing golf tomorrow

Then, students have to make a reported speech statement using the information. It’s fun, engaging and a nice way to give students some practice with this important concept.

Check out this simple ESL board game so you can see how easy it is to make your own:

ESL Board Game .

#2: Ball Toss

This is a simple but versatile activity that’s perfect for reported speech. I write down a number of questions on the beach ball. Then, students take turns tossing the ball to each other and the person that catches it has to answer the question under their right thumb.

To add a reported speech element, have another student (the one who threw the ball?) report on that student’s answer. It’s simple but effective! Check it out:

Ball Toss Activity .

#3: Is that Sentence Correct

If you want to focus on forms, then consider using this simple error correction activity. Write some sentences that use the target grammar. Some have errors while others do not. Students have to find the incorrect ones and make the required changes.

It’s possible to do this in class, or for a homework activity. Have a look here:

Is that Sentence Correct? 

#4: Running Dictation

#5: Mixed Up Sentences

Making good sentences using reported speech can be a little bit tricky. If you want to focus on forms, consider using this simple activity.

Write some sentences on the board of PowerPoint, but mix them up in terms of the order. Students have to work quickly to put them in the correct order and the first time to finish is the winner. It also makes a nice homework assignment. Try it out for yourself:

Mixed Up Sentences .

• Amazon Kindle Edition
• Bolen, Jackie (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 137 Pages - 09/27/2020 (Publication Date)

#6: Man/Woman on the Street Interview Activity

If you want to level up the typical ESL interview activity, consider using Man or Woman on the Street. Then, to make it into a reported speech activity, have students tell someone else about what they heard. It’s fun, engaging, and lends itself well to this grammar point. Find out more:

Man/Woman on the Street Activity .

#7: Concentration

This is a fun memory game that’s ideal for a whole bunch of different grammar or vocabulary points. On one card, write down a statement, and then on the other, write down the correct form.

• I have a boyfriend (She told me that she has a boyfriend).

Make a number of these sets. I usually do 8 of them per group of 4. Then, students play a matching memory game. Learn more here:

Concentration Game .

#8: Vocabulary Auction

#9: Find Someone Who Bingo Game

This is a nice icebreaker activity that can also be used for some practice with this grammar point. Students have to circulate around the class, asking their classmates questions to find people to fill their Bingo grid.

To make this into a reported speech activity, have students report some of the things they learned about their classmates to a partner (bigger classes) or to the entire class (smaller classes). Find out more about it:

Find Someone Who Bingo Game .

#10: More Ideas for Teaching English

#11: dictogloss and reported speech.

This is a challenging ESL activity that’s perfect for developing listening skills. It also lends itself to almost any vocabulary set or grammatical point, including this one.

Find (or write) a passage of people talking about something that they heard.. Then, put students into pairs and read it out at a faster than normal pace. Students take notes and then attempt to recreate what they heard. Repeat the process again. Finally, they can compare what they have with the original. Check it out:

Dictogloss Activity .

#12: Surveys and Reported Speech

I love to use surveys and questionnaires in my classes. They’re engaging, student-centred and cover a range of skills in a single activity. They’re also great for working on this concept if you get each student to tell their partner some of the things they learned about their classmates.

This is a simple way to cover a new concept but have a quick review of this grammar point as well. Take a look at this activity:

ESL Surveys .

ESL games and activities

#13: Brochure Scanning Activity

This is a nice activity if you have a bunch of different travel brochures. Have students quickly scan them to find important information. For example:

• number of days

Then, have students use reported speech to tell their partner about the trip. Find out more:

Brochure Scanning Activity .

#14: ESL Review Games and Activities

#15: Daily Routine Activities and Reported Speech

In terms of topics to combine with this concept, daily routine is one of the best. It’s very simple to set up activities that lead to sentences like the following:

• Tim told me that he gets up at 7 am.
• Jenny said that she usually sleeps in on the weekends.

For some more ideas, have a look here:

Daily Routine ESL Activities .

#16: Error Correction Relay Race

This is a simple activity that takes something old (error correction) and makes it new again. Students have to work in teams to fix errors in a number of reported speech sentences. The first team to make all the corrections is the winner!

Want to give it a try? Learn more:

Error Correction Relay Race .

#17: Dialogue Substitution

#18: News Reporting

Provide students with news headlines or short news articles. Ask them to transform from direct speech (quoted speech) to reported speech (indirect speech) when retelling the news. This activity helps students practice the appropriate changes in verb tenses, pronouns, and time and place references.

#19: Interview and Report

Pair students up and ask them to conduct mock interviews. Afterward, have them report the interview to a different partner using reported speech. This activity allows students to practice converting direct speech into reported while maintaining the meaning and context of the conversation.

#20: Picture Stories

Provide students with a series of pictures that depict a sequence of events. Ask them to create a story using reported speech to describe what is happening in each picture. This activity encourages students to use this language in a narrative context and practice converting direct speech into reported speech.

#21: Role Plays

Create role play scenarios where students take on different roles and engage in conversations. Afterward, ask them to report the conversations to another person using reported speech. This activity allows students to practice converting direct speech into reported speech in a context that mimics real-life situations.

#22: Song Lyrics Transformation

Choose a song that contains direct speech and ask students to rewrite the lyrics using reported speech. This activity helps students practice converting direct speech in songs into reported speech while exploring the meaning and context of the lyrics.

Online Practice for Reported Speech

There are a number of sites for online practice and quizzes that cover this. They are excellent resources to recommend to students who want a little bit of extra practice. Check it out here:

Perfect English Grammar

Exam English

My English Pages

Reported Speech ESL Lesson Plans

There are lots of nice lesson plans. Here are some of the best ones to consider using:

Lingua House

Reported Speech Worksheets

If you’re a busy teacher then you’re going to know what a huge time saver it can be to use worksheets that other teachers have made. Here are some of the top picks:

ISL Collective

English Grammar

There are a number of common questions that people have about using this method of speech. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is reported speech ESL?

Reported speech ESL is when we tell someone what another person said. You often have to use a tense that is further back in time (backshift) and may also need to change the pronouns.

What are some examples of reported speech?

Some examples of reported speech are the following:

• They said you didn’t want to come.
• My mom told me that she was angry at my dad.
• I asked her what her plans were.

How do you teach reported speech?

To teach reported speech, first set the context with a short video clip, discussion question, etc. Then, explain the grammar rules for it and do some controlled practice. Finally, use an ESL game or activity that allows students to practice further.

What are the types of reported speech?

The types of reported speech are direct speech and indirect speech.

Tips for Teaching Reported Speech To English Learners

Teaching reported speech to ESL learners can be challenging, as it involves a shift in verb tense and pronoun usage. Here are some tips to make the teaching process more effective and engaging.

Start with Direct Speech

Begin by introducing and reviewing direct speech, which is the original statement or question spoken by someone. Ensure students are familiar with the use of quotation marks and the appropriate verb tenses in direct speech.

Introduce Reporting Verbs

Teach students a variety of reporting verbs such as say, tell, ask, explain, suggest, etc. Explain the different patterns that follow these reporting verbs, including the use of direct objects, indirect objects, and prepositions.

Present Tense Changes

Demonstrate how to change verb tenses when reporting speech. Provide clear examples of how present simple changes to past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous, and so on. Reinforce the importance of maintaining accuracy in verb tense changes.

Practice Conversion of Pronouns

Show students how pronouns change when reporting speech. Explain the transformation from the speaker’s pronouns (I, you, we) to the appropriate pronouns in reported speech (he, she, they). Emphasize the use of possessive pronouns when necessary.

Provide Contextualized Examples

Use authentic materials, such as dialogues, interviews, or news articles, to provide meaningful examples of reported speech. This helps students understand the purpose and practical application in real-life situations.

Use Reporting Structures

Teach students reporting structures, such as reporting statements, reporting questions, and reporting commands. Practice transforming direct speech into reported speech using these structures and provide opportunities for students to generate their own examples.

Focus on Reporting Verbs of Perception

Highlight reporting verbs of perception like see, hear, feel, notice, etc., which require a change in verb tense but do not require reporting the exact words. Provide examples to help students understand the difference between reporting statements and reporting verbs of perception.

Incorporate Speaking and Writing Activities

Encourage students to practice reported speech through role-plays, interviews, or storytelling activities. Assign writing tasks where students report a conversation or summarize an article using reported speech.

Address Common Errors

Be aware of common errors students make when learning reported speech, such as incorrect verb tense changes or pronoun usage. Provide corrective feedback and offer opportunities for targeted practice to overcome these challenges.

Review and Reinforce

Regularly review with students and provide opportunities for reinforcement through quizzes, games, or interactive exercises. Repetition and reinforcement are key to solidifying understanding and application of this language.

Did you like these Reported Speech Activities?

• 87 Pages - 10/24/2019 (Publication Date)

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book on Amazon: 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Grammar Activities for Teenagers and Adults . It’s the book you need if you want to have more engaging and interactive grammar lessons.

You can find the book in both digital and print formats. Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide. Or, take the e-version with you to your favourite coffee shop for some lesson planning on the go.

Whatever the case, get ready for some ESL grammar teaching awesome in your life. Head over to Amazon to find out more about it:

Have your Say about Reported Speech Games and Activities

What do you think about these activities? Are they a winner, or do you have another one that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

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Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 60 books for English teachers and English learners, including Business English Vocabulary Builder and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

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Biden's State of the Union address, annotated and fact-checked

By Zachary B. Wolf and Sean O’Key, CNN

Published March 8, 2024

It may have been President Joe Biden’s final State of the Union address. Or possibly the last of his first term. As Biden and former President Donald Trump prepare for a 2024 general election rematch, a vigorous Biden went off script at times, directly addressing Republicans and making the case that his administration has improved the country and people’s lives.

Here’s what he said and key ad-libs, along with context and fact checks from CNN’s fact check team.

Good evening.

Mr. Speaker. Madam Vice President. Members of Congress. My Fellow Americans.

In January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation.

He said, “I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union."

Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe.

President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary moment.

Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world.

Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech closed with a vision of spreading American democracy to the world. That’s a very Biden sentiment .

Tonight I come to the same chamber to address the nation.

Now it is we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union.

And yes, my purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress, and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either.

It’s notable that Biden was essentially comparing the threat against democracy today, both here and abroad, to the threat posed by Adolf Hitler in Germany in 1941.

Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today.

What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time.

Biden’s challenge in this election is to make Americans believe his quest to save democracy is an urgent matter. The rise of Trump from the political desert suggests many Americans are tiring of the message.

Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond.

If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not.

But Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking. They are not asking for American soldiers.

In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. And I am determined to keep it that way.

This was an important pledge for Americans to hear. French President Emmanuel Macron recently suggested European troops could be called to Ukraine .

But now assistance for Ukraine is being blocked by those who want us to walk away from our leadership in the world.

The Senate passed a bill to give Ukraine an additional $60 billion in US aid, but Speaker Mike Johnson, who sat over Biden’s left shoulder during the speech, has not schedule d a vote in the House .

It wasn’t that long ago when a Republican President, Ronald Reagan, thundered, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

Now, my predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, “Do whatever the hell you want."

Reagan’s words were an important moment in US history. Watch it here. Trump, he who shall not be named in this speech, said recently that he told a European leader that Russia should be able to “ do whatever the hell they want ” to European countries that don’t spend enough on defense.

A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader.

It’s outrageous. It’s dangerous. It’s unacceptable.

This “bowing down” line has become a staple of Biden’s speeches.

America is a founding member of NATO the military alliance of democratic nations created after World War II to prevent war and keep the peace.

Today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever.

We welcomed Finland to the Alliance last year, and just this morning, Sweden officially joined NATO, and their Prime Minister is here tonight.

Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever known.

Sweden was able to join NATO after Turkey and Hungary dropped objections. Coincidentally, Trump is set to meet with Hungary’s Putin-friendly prime minister, Viktor Orban, at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.

I say this to Congress: we must stand up to Putin. Send me the Bipartisan National Security Bill.

History is watching.

If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk.

Europe at risk. The free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm.

My message to President Putin is simple.

We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.

History is watching, just like history watched three years ago on January 6th.

This was an important turn, from standing up to Putin to the threat of insurrectionists at home. Trump’s affinity for Putin is no secret. Trump argues he would be able to contain Putin better than Biden.

Insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy.

Many of you were here on that darkest of days.

We all saw with our own eyes these insurrectionists were not patriots.

They had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power and to overturn the will of the people.

Everyone saw it, but many Republican lawmakers now downplay the threat posed by the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Johnson was among the lawmakers who objected to the counting of electoral votes in key states Biden won in 2020.

January 6th and the lies about the 2020 election, and the plots to steal the election, posed the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War.

But they failed. America stood strong and democracy prevailed.

But we must be honest the threat remains and democracy must be defended.

My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of January 6th.

I will not do that.

A lot of Americans might want to move on from 2020, but Biden will try to remind them at every turn. He’ll get help from Trump, who is also still very focused on 2020. Trump has fashioned his campaign as a weapon of “retribution.”

This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies.

And here’s the simplest truth. You can’t love your country only when you win.

As I’ve done ever since being elected to office, I ask you all, without regard to party, to join together and defend our democracy!

Remember your oath of office to defend against all threats foreign and domestic.

Respect free and fair elections! Restore trust in our institutions! And make clear –political violence has absolutely no place in America!

Biden frequently uses this line about having to love your country when you lose too. The erosion of faith in US institutions is a troubling development reflected in multiple polls .

And history is watching another assault on freedom.

Joining us tonight is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama . 14 months ago tonight, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to the miracle of IVF.

She scheduled treatments to have a second child, but t he Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state , unleashed by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

She was told her dream would have to wait.

Here’s a list of all of the people who sat with first lady Jill Biden.

Notably, some Alabama clinics have resumed treatment under a bipartisan law hastily passed in that state. But Democrats will continue to make this argument about abortion restrictions being an assault on freedom.

What her family has gone through should never have happened. And unless Congress acts, it could happen again.

So tonight, let’s stand up for families like hers!

To my friends across the aisle, don’t keep families waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to IVF nationwide!

This will be an interesting request to monitor, since it could theoretically gain bipartisan support.

Like most Americans, I believe Roe v. Wade got it right. And I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader, defending reproductive freedom and so much more.

But my predecessor came to office determined to see Roe v. Wade overturned.

He’s the reason it was overturned. In fact, he brags about it.

Look at the chaos that has resulted.

Most Americans support abortion rights in some form, but the parties are hopelessly split. It will help Trump with his base to brag about overturning Roe v. Wade. It will help Biden with his base to blame Trump.

Joining us tonight is Kate Cox, a wife and mother from Dallas.

When she became pregnant again, the fetus had a fatal condition.

Her doctors told Kate that her own life and her ability to have children in the future were at risk if she didn’t act.

Because Texas law banned abortion, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get the care she needed.

What her family has gone through should never have happened as well. But it is happening to so many others.

CNN’s Betsy Klein notes that Biden leaned on the personal stories of two of the guests in the first lady’s box: Latorya Beasley, an Alabama mother who had to pause in vitro fertilization treatment, and Kate Cox , the Texas mother of two who had to leave her state for access to a lifesaving abortion. And he pointed to a patchwork of abortion rights laws around the country.

But Republicans would have as much trouble passing a nationwide abortion ban as Democrats would have passing a bill to codify Roe v. Wade.

There are state laws banning the right to choose, criminalizing doctors, and forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states as well to get the care they need.

Many of you in this Chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom.

My God, what freedoms will you take away next?

In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court majority wrote, “Women are not without – electoral or political power.”

No kidding.

Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America.

They found out though when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again, in 2024.

Democratic candidates will do everything they can to raise the abortion rights issue during the general election. Even voters in red states have chosen to support abortion rights when given the chance. There could be abortion-related ballot questions in key states, including Florida .

If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose , I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again!

This math doesn’t work. Passing legislation to protect abortion rights nationwide and restore Roe would surely require 60 votes in the Senate. Democrats currently have 51 seats, and there are few opportunities for pickups in 2024. Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, publicly support a national abortion rights law. That’s not nearly enough.

America cannot go back. I am here tonight to show the way forward. Because I know how far we’ve come.

Four years ago next week, before I came to office, our country was hit by the worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a century.

Remember the fear. Record job losses. Remember the spike in crime. And the murder rate.

A raging virus that would take more than 1 million American lives and leave millions of loved ones behind.

Biden’s figure needs context. Many lives were lost to Covid-19 during the Trump administration, but the US didn’t reach its millionth death until May 2022 when Biden was in office.

A mental health crisis of isolation and loneliness.

A president, my predecessor, who failed the most basic duty. Any President owes the American people the duty to care.

That is unforgivable.

I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history .

It is sometimes hard to remember that the Covid-19 pandemic started during the Trump administration and dominated the start of the Biden administration.

And we have. It doesn’t make the news but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.

So let’s tell that story here and now.

America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up , not the top down, investing in all of America, in all Americans to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind!

Republicans frequently try to label Biden as a socialist for spending taxpayer money. But Democrats and Biden argue the public has an interest in trying to make sure opportunities are accessible to everyone.

The pandemic no longer controls our lives. The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer.

Turning setback into comeback.

That's America!

I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is the envy of the world!

15 million new jobs in just three years - that's a record!

Biden’s claim is correct: the US economy added about 14.8 million jobs between Biden’s first full month in office, February 2021, and January 2024, more jobs than were added in any previous four-year presidential term. However, it’s important to note that Biden took office in an unusual pandemic context that makes meaningful comparison to other periods very difficult.

Unemployment at 50-year lows.

This needs context. The unemployment rate did hit a five-decade low during two months of early 2023 , 3.4%, and it has since remained close to that level — but the latest available unemployment rate, 3.7% for January, is higher than the rate was during nine months under President Donald Trump in 2019 and pre-pandemic 2020. (The rate then skyrocketed on account of the pandemic, and it was 6.4% the month Biden took office in January 2021.)

A record 16 million Americans are starting small businesses and each one is an act of hope.

With historic job growth and small business growth for Black, Hispanic, and Asian-Americans.

800,000 new manufacturing jobs in America and counting.

Biden’s figure is correct. The US economy added 791,000 manufacturing jobs from Biden’s first full month in office, February 2021, through January 2024, the last month for which Bureau of Labor Statistics data is available — though it’s worth noting that the growth largely occurred in 2021 and 2022 (with 746,000 manufacturing jobs added starting in February 2021) before a relatively flat 2023.

More people have health insurance today than ever before.

The racial wealth gap is the smallest it’s been in 20 years.

Wages keep going up and inflation keeps coming down!

Inflation has dropped from 9% to 3% – the lowest in the world!

Convincing Americans that their economy is good and improving may be Biden’s most important task in his reelection campaign. Because despite all of that data he rattled off, people are having trouble making ends meet. He’ll have more work to do to convince them .

And trending lower.

And now instead of importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs – right here in America where they belong!

And the American people are beginning to feel it.

Consumer studies show consumer confidence is soaring.

Buy American has been the law of the land since the 1930s.

Past administrations including my predecessor failed to Buy American.

Not any more.

On my watch, federal projects like helping to build American roads bridges and highways will be made with American products built by American workers creating good-paying American jobs!

Thanks to my Chips and Science Act the United States is investing more in research and development than ever before.

Biden did oversee the passage of multiple, bipartisan bills to improve the country. The bipartisan infrastructure law is meant to improve things across the country. Propping up a semiconductor chip industry is also meant to make the US more independent from China.

During the pandemic a shortage of semiconductor chips drove up prices for everything from cell phones to automobiles.

Well instead of having to import semiconductor chips, which America invented I might add, private companies are now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in America!

Creating tens of thousands of jobs many of them paying over $100,000 a year and don’t require a college degree.

In fact my policies have attracted $650 Billion of private sector investments in clean energy and advanced manufacturing creating tens of thousands of jobs here in America!

Thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 46,000 new projects have been announced across your communities – modernizing our roads and bridges, ports and airports, and public transit systems.

A futuristic airport terminal, a fish passage and ski town bus lanes: Here are some of the projects being built through the infrastructure law.

Removing poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without risk of getting brain damage.

Providing affordable high speed internet for every American no matter where you live.

Urban, suburban, and rural communities — in red states and blue.

Record investments in tribal communities.

Because of my investments, family farms are better be able to stay in the family and children and grandchildren won’t have to leave home to make a living.

It’s transformative.

A great comeback story is Belvidere, Illinois. Home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years.

Before I came to office the plant was on its way to shutting down.

Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods. Hope was fading.

Then I was elected to office and we raised Belvidere repeatedly with the auto company knowing unions make all the difference.

The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get those jobs back. And together, we succeeded!

Instead of an auto factory shutting down an auto factory is re-opening and a new state-of-the art battery factory is being built to power those cars.

Instead of a town being left behind it’s a community moving forward again!

Because instead of watching auto jobs of the future go overseas 4,000 union workers with higher wages will be building that future, in Belvidere, here in America!

Here tonight is UAW President, Shawn Fain, a great friend, and a great labor leader.

And Dawn Simms, a third generation UAW worker in Belvidere.

Shawn, I was proud to be the first President in American history to walk a picket line.

Biden attended a U nited A uto W orkers rally in Belvidere with UAW President Shawn Fain last year. He also became the first president to join a picket line when he stood with workers in Michigan.

And today Dawn has a job in her hometown providing stability for her family and pride and dignity.

Showing once again, Wall Street didn’t build this country!

The middle class built this country! And unions built the middle class!

Both Biden and Trump will try to argue they are looking out for the middle class. The turn of White voters without college degrees away from Democrats and toward Republicans has been a major shift in politics that drove the rise of Trump.

When Americans get knocked down, we get back up!

We keep going!

That’s America! That’s you, the American people!

It’s because of you America is coming back!

It’s because of you, our future is brighter!

Never has a State of the Union transcript included so many exclamations. Biden presented as a vigorous and energized leader here, far from the doddering old man he has been portrayed as by Republicans.

And it’s because of you that tonight we can proudly say the State of our Union is strong and getting stronger!

Tonight I want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together.

A future where the days of trickle-down economics are over and the wealthy and biggest corporations no longer get all the breaks.

I grew up in a home where not a lot trickled down on my Dad’s kitchen table.

That’s why I’m determined to turn things around so the middle class does well the poor have a way up and the wealthy still does well.

After earlier praising Reagan’s foreign policy, here Biden trashed the guiding principle of Reagan’s economic policy (and Republicans who have worked tirelessly to cut taxes for a generation).

We all do well.

And there’s more to do to make sure you’re feeling the benefits of all we’re doing.

Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere else.

It’s wrong and I’m ending it.

With a law I proposed and signed and not one Republican voted for we finally beat Big Pharma!

This is the Inflation Reduction Act , a post-Covid-19 recovery plan that Democrats loaded up with other policy priorities and were able to pass without Republican votes by bending budget rules.

Democrats had been trying for years to pass a law that would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices . This is a first step.

Instead of paying $400 a month for insulin seniors with diabetes only have to pay $35 a month!

And now I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it!

For years people have talked about it but I finally got it done and gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs just like the VA does for our veterans.

That’s not just saving seniors money.

It’s saving taxpayers money cutting the federal deficit by $160 billion because Medicare will no longer have to pay exorbitant prices to Big Pharma.

It’s true that two of the main drug price provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats pushed through Congress in 2022, are expected to reduce the deficit by $160 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. In total, the law’s drug measures are expected to reduce the deficit by $237 billion, though delaying the implementation of a Trump administration drug rebate rule accounts for the difference.

This year Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis.

Now it’s time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 drugs over the next decade.

That will not only save lives it will save taxpayers another $200 Billion!

Starting next year that same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 a year even for expensive cancer drugs that can cost $10,000, $12,000, $15,000 a year.

Now I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone!

Another major contrast between Trump and Biden. Trump still wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act . Biden seemed to be veering toward “Medicare for All” here.

Folks Obamacare, known as the Affordable Care Act is still a very big deal.

Over one hundred million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions.

But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take that protection away by repealing the Affordable Care Act I won’t let that happen!

We stopped you 50 times before and we will stop you again!

In fact I am protecting it and expanding it.

I enacted tax credits that save $800 per person per year reducing health care premiums for millions of working families.

Those tax credits expire next year.

I want to make those savings permanent!

Women are more than half of our population but research on women’s health has always been underfunded.

That’s why we’re launching the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, led by Jill who is doing an incredible job as First Lady.

Creating a commission or new office is a classic State of the Union maneuver. That this speech focused on women’s health is not surprising since Democrats are so focused on the issue.

Pass my plan for $12 Billion to transform women’s health research and benefit millions of lives across America!

I know the cost of housing is so important to you .

If inflation keeps coming down mortgage rates will come down as well.

But I’m not waiting.

I want to provide an annual tax credit that will give Americans $400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgage when they buy a first home or trade up for a little more space.

My Administration is also eliminating title insurance fees for federally backed mortgages.

When you refinance your home this can save you $1,000 or more.

These are all very specific ideas to put people at ease about the cost of buying and renting, major issues that are affecting how people view the economy . But Biden can’t accomplish all of this. He will need Congress to enact tax credits. He will need inflation to continue to come down to bring down mortgage rates .

For millions of renters, we’re cracking down on big landlords who break antitrust laws by price-fixing and driving up rents.

I’ve cut red tape so more builders can get federal financing, which is already helping build a record 1.7 million housing units nationwide.

Now pass my plan to build and renovate 2 million affordable homes and bring those rents down!

To remain the strongest economy in the world we need the best education system in the world.

I want to give every child a good start by providing access to pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds.

He’s actually wanted to enact universal pre-K for some time. But Democrats could not come up with the votes to include that program in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Studies show that children who go to pre-school are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a 2- or 4-year degree no matter their background.

I want to expand high-quality tutoring and summer learning time and see to it that every child learns to read by third grade.

I’m also connecting businesses and high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to a good-paying job whether or not they go to college.

And I want to make college more affordable.

Let’s continue increasing Pell Grants for working- and middle-class families and increase our record investments in HBCUs and Hispanic and Minority-serving Institutions

I fixed student loan programs to reduce the burden of student debt for nearly 4 Million Americans including nurses firefighters and others in public service like Keenan Jones a public-school educator in Minnesota who’s here with us tonight.

Biden has done quite a bit to forgive federal student loan debt, canceling about $138 billion so far. Here’s a good visualization of that . But his most expansive plan, which he hoped to do through executive action and would have canceled up to $20,000 for borrowers who make less than $125,000 a year, was rejected by the Supreme Court.

He’s educated hundreds of students so they can go to college now he can help his own daughter pay for college.

Such relief is good for the economy because folks are now able to buy a home start a business even start a family.

While we’re at it I want to give public school teachers a raise!

Now let me speak to a question of fundamental fairness for all Americans.

I’ve been delivering real results in a fiscally responsible way.

I’ve already cut the federal deficit by over one trillion dollars.

Biden’s claim leaves out such critical context that it is misleading. While the annual federal budget deficit was more than $1 trillion lower in the 2023 fiscal year than it was in both the 2020 fiscal year (under President Donald Trump) and the 2021 fiscal year (partially under Trump and partially under Biden), analysts have repeatedly noted that Biden’s own actions, including laws he has signed and executive orders he has issued, have had the overall effect of worsening annual deficits, not reducing them. As in past remarks , Biden didn’t explain that the primary reason the deficit fell by a record amount during his tenure was that it had skyrocketed to a record high at the end of Trump’s term because of bipartisan emergency pandemic relief spending, then fell as expected when that spending expired as planned.

I signed a bipartisan budget deal that will cut another trillion dollars over the next decade.

And now it’s my goal to cut the federal deficit $3 trillion more by making big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their fair share.

Look, I’m a capitalist.

If you want to make a million bucks – great!

Just pay your fair share in taxes.

A fair tax code is how we invest in the things –

that make a country great, health care, education, defense, and more.

But here’s the deal.

The last administration enacted a $2 Trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefits the very wealthy and the biggest corporations and exploded the federal deficit.

They added more to the national debt than in any presidential term in American history.

Biden’s numbers are correct; the national debt rose from about $19.9 trillion to about $27.8 trillion during Trump’s tenure, an increase of about 39% and more than in any other four-year presidential term, in part because of Trump’s major tax cuts. But it is an oversimplification to blame presidents alone for debt incurred during their tenures. Some of the Trump-era increase in the debt was due to the trillions of dollars in emergency Covid-19 pandemic relief spending that passed with bipartisan support and because of spending required by safety-net programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, that were created by previous presidents.

For folks at home does anybody really think the tax code is fair?

Do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion in tax breaks?

I sure don’t. I’m going to keep fighting like hell to make it fair!

Under my plan nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in federal taxes.

Nobody. Not one penny.

In fact the Child Tax Credit I passed during the pandemic cut taxes for millions of working families and cut child poverty in HALF.

Restore the Child Tax Credit because no child should go hungry in this country!

The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their share.

In 2020 55 of the biggest companies in America made $40 billion in profits and paid zero in federal income taxes.

Not any more!

Thanks to the law I wrote and signed big companies now have to pay a minimum of 15%.

Biden’s “not anymore” claim is false, an exaggeration. While his 15% corporate minimum tax will reduce the number of big companies that don’t pay any federal taxes, it’s not true that “not anymore” will any big company — such as the ones on the list of 55 companies Biden mentioned — ever do so. That’s because the minimum tax, on the “book income” companies report to investors, only applies to companies with at least $1 billion in average annual income. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, only 14 of the companies on its list of 55 non-payers reported having US pre-tax income of at least $1 billion.

But that’s still less than working people pay in federal taxes.

It’s time to raise the corporate minimum tax to at least 21% so every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share.

I also want to end the tax breaks for Big Pharma, Big Oil, private jets, and massive executive pay!

End it now!

There are 1,000 billionaires in America.

You know what the average federal tax rate for these billionaires is? 8.2 percent!

That’s far less than the vast majority of Americans pay.

No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker, a nurse!

That’s why I’ve proposed a minimum tax of 25% for billionaires. Just 25%.

That would raise $500 Billion over the next 10 years.

Imagine what that could do for America. Imagine a future with affordable child care so millions of families can get the care they need and still go to work and help grow the economy.

Imagine a future with paid leave because no one should have to choose between working and taking care of yourself or a sick family member.

Imagine a future with home care and elder care so seniors and people living with disabilities can stay in their homes and family caregivers get paid what they deserve!

Tonight, let’s all agree once again to stand up for seniors!

Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security on the chopping block.

If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age I will stop them!

Working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do. It’s not fair.

We have two ways to go on Social Security.

Republicans will cut Social Security and give more tax cuts to the wealthy.

Biden went off script here, engaging in a back-and-forth with Republicans on the House floor. Republicans jeered when he said they would cut Social Security . Many in their party say they will do no such thing.

“That’s the proposal — oh no? You guys don’t want another $2 trillion tax cut?” Biden said. “I kind of thought that’s what your plan was. Well, that's good to hear.”

I will protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share!

Too many corporations raise their prices to pad their profits charging you more and more for less and less.

That’s why we’re cracking down on corporations that engage in price gouging or deceptive pricing from food to health care to housing.

In fact, snack companies think you won’t notice when they charge you just as much for the same size bag but with fewer chips in it.

Pass Senator Bob Casey’s bill to put a stop to shrinkflation !

While a lot of people seem to blame Biden for inflation and cite government spending, he’d like to blame corporations.

CNN’s Bryan Mena notes while there is evidence that companies have reduced the size of their products, according to Labor Department data, the reason is usually to cut costs during times of high inflation and is a widespread practice. Companies do this because consumers are more sensitive to price changes than the size of a product becoming smaller, according to research. “Shrinkflation” due to corporate greed is a hasty generalization.

I’m also getting rid of junk fees those hidden fees added at the end of your bills without your knowledge. My administration just announced we’re cutting credit card late fees from $32 to just $8.

The banks and credit card companies don’t like it.

I’m saving American families $20 billion a year with all of the junk fees I’m eliminating .

And I’m not stopping there.

If this sounded familiar, that’s because he talked about junk fees at last year’s State of the Union .

My Administration has proposed rules to make cable, travel, utilities and online ticket sellers tell you the total price upfront so there are no surprises.

It matters.

This was his chance to say the words “ Taylor Swift .” Fail.

And so does this.

In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of Senators.

The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country .

He went off script again here. CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez notes that Biden baited Republicans with praise for the bipartisan Senate border bill .

“Oh, you don’t like that bill, huh? That conservatives got together and said it was a good bill. I’ll be darned. That’s amazing,” Biden said, as some Republicans grumbled in the crowd.

Republican Sen. James Lankford, a key negotiator on the bipartisan border deal who faced pushback from members of his own party, stared ahead, appearing to nod as Biden ticked through elements of the bill -- including how it would shore up federal resources and include an emergency authority that would allow him to shut down the border if certain triggers are met.

That bipartisan deal would hire 1,500 more border security agents and officers.

100 more immigration judges to help tackle a backload of 2 million cases.

4,300 more asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in 6 months instead of 6 years.

100 more high-tech drug detection machines to significantly increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles from smuggling fentanyl into America.

This bill would save lives and bring order to the border.

It would also give me as President new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming.

The Border Patrol Union endorsed the bill.

The Chamber of Commerce endorsed the bill.

I believe that given the opportunity a majority of the House and Senate would endorse it as well.

But unfortunately, politics have derailed it so far.

I’m told my predecessor called Republicans in Congress and demanded they block the bill . He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him.

It’s not about him or me.

Biden was interrupted here by GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who shouted at him about Laken Riley , the Georgia nursing student killed, allegedly by an undocumented immigrant. It’s an incident that has driven claims that migrants are criminals.

Biden picked up a pin that read “Say Her Name Laken Riley” and directly addressed the parents of Laken Riley, who had been invited to the speech by a congressman.

“Lincoln (sic) Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right. But how many of the thousands of people being killed by illegals - to her parents, I say my heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand.”

It is interesting that Biden also referred to the undocumented migrant who is suspected in Riley’s killing with the derogatory term “illegal.” Read more.

It’d be a winner for America!

My Republican friends you owe it to the American people to get this bill done.

We need to act.

And if my predecessor is watching instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill, join me in telling Congress to pass it!

We can do it together. But here’s what I will not do.

I will not demonize immigrants saying they “poison the blood of our country” as he said in his own words.

I will not separate families.

I will not ban people from America because of their faith.

Trump’s rhetoric on immigration has gotten increasingly heated. He frequently refers to people crossing the border as “murderers,” for instance. The “poisoning the blood” line Trump uses is similar to a passage in Hitler’s manifesto “Mein Kampf.”

Unlike my predecessor, on my first day in office I introduced a comprehensive plan to fix our immigration system, secure the border, and provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and so much more.

Because unlike my predecessor, I know who we are as Americans.

We are the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new.

Home to Native Americans whose ancestors have been here for thousands of years. Home to people from every place on Earth.

Some came freely.

Some chained by force.

Some when famine struck, like my ancestral family in Ireland.

Some to flee persecution.

Some to chase dreams that are impossible anywhere but here in America.

That’s America, where we all come from somewhere, but we are all Americans.

We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it.

Send me the border bill now!

Biden both eloquently talked about how the US is a nation of immigrants and also called on Congress to give him the power to close the border. His shift on the issue has been remarkable.

A transformational moment in our history happened 59 years ago today in Selma, Alabama.

Hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after a Grand Dragon of the KKK, to claim their fundamental right to vote.

They were beaten bloodied and left for dead.

Our late friend and former colleague John Lewis was at the march.

We miss him.

Joining us tonight are other marchers who were there including Betty May Fikes, known as the "Voice of Selma”.

A daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday,

to help shake the nation’s conscience. Five months later, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.

But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time.

Voter suppression. Election subversion. Unlimited dark money. Extreme gerrymandering.

John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here. But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it’s time for more than just talk.

Pass and send me the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act!

If Democrats could not pass a new national voting standard when they controlled the House during Biden’s first two years in office, they will not be able to do it now, while Republicans control the chamber.

And stop denying another core value of America our diversity across American life.

Banning books.

It’s wrong!

Instead of erasing history, let’s make history!

I want to protect other fundamental rights!

Pass the Equality Act, and my message to transgender Americans: I have your back!

Pass the PRO Act for workers rights! And raise the federal minimum wage because every worker has the right to earn a decent living!

We are also making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it.

I’m taking the most significant action on climate ever in the history of the world.

I am cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030.

The climate crisis may be an existential problem for humanity, but it did not rate mention in the first half of this State of the Union address. That said, Biden, with help from the Inflation Reduction Act, has done more than previous presidents to address the issue. But n ot enough to satisfy activists . Trump, meanwhile, likes to poke fun at climate efforts.

Creating tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs, like the IBEW workers building and installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.

Conserving 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030.

Taking historic action on environmental justice for fence-line communities smothered by the legacy of pollution.

And patterned after the Peace Corps and Ameri Corps, I’ve launched a Climate Corps to put 20,000 young people to work at the forefront of our clean energy future.

I’ll triple that number this decade.

All Americans deserve the freedom to be safe, and America is safer today than when I took office.

The year before I took office, murders went up 30% nationwide the biggest increase in history.

That was then.

Now, through my American Rescue Plan, which every Republican voted against, I’ve made the largest investment in public safety ever.

Last year, the murder rate saw the sharpest decrease in history, and violent crime fell to one of the lowest levels in more than 50 years.

This is true, at least based on preliminary 2023 data that should be treated with caution. The preliminary 2023 data published by the FBI, running through the third quarter of the year, showed that violent crime was down 8.2% compared to the same period in 2022 — a decline that would be “historically large” for a year, crime data expert Jeff Asher wrote in a December article. The data generally confirms Biden’s description of violent crime falling across the nation, though some communities have seen increases. Asher wrote: “The quarterly data shows violent crime down in big cities, small cities, suburban counties, and rural counties, pretty much across the board.”

But we have more to do.

Help cities and towns invest in more community police officers, more mental health workers, and more community violence intervention.

Give communities the tools to crack down on gun crime, retail crime, and carjacking.

Keep building public trust, as I’ve been doing by taking executive action on police reform, and calling for it to be the law of the land, directing my Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana, and expunging thousands of convictions for mere possession , because no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana!

Biden’s mass clemency for federal offenses of simple marijuana possession, announced before the m idterm elections in 2022 , was seen as a first step to national decriminalization.

To take on crimes of domestic violence, I am ramping up federal enforcement of the Violence Against Women Act, that I proudly wrote, so we can finally end the scourge of violence against women in America!

And there’s another kind of violence I want to stop.

With us tonight is Jasmine, whose 9-year-old sister Jackie was murdered with 21 classmates and teachers at her elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Soon after it happened, Jill and I went to Uvalde and spent hours with the families.

We heard their message, and so should everyone in this chamber do something.

I did do something by establishing the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the White House that Vice President Harris is leading.

Meanwhile, my predecessor told the NRA he’s proud he did nothing on guns when he was President.

After another school shooting in Iowa he said we should just “get over it.”

I say we must stop it.

I’m proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years!

Now we must beat the NRA again!

I’m demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines!

Pass universal background checks!

Again, none of this will happen without a major change in Congress.

None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners.

As we manage challenges at home, we’re also managing crises abroad including in the Middle East.

I know the last five months have been gut-wrenching for so many people, for the Israeli people, the Palestinian people, and so many here in America.

This crisis began on October 7th with a massacre by the terrorist group Hamas.

1,200 innocent people women and girls men and boys slaughtered, many enduring sexual violence.

The deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

250 hostages taken.

Here in the chamber tonight are American families whose loved ones are still being held by Hamas.

I pledge to all the families that we will not rest until we bring their loved ones home.

We will also work around the clock to bring home Evan and Paul, Americans being unjustly detained all around the world.

Israel has a right to go after Hamas.

This is an incredibly important issue for Biden. Nothing else splits Democrats at the moment like Israel. Biden is a self-proclaimed Zionist. While he has increasingly called out the conservative government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it’s not nearly enough to satisfy the large portion of Democrats who are motivated by the plight of Palestinians who are stuck and starving in Gaza .

Hamas could end this conflict today by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and surrendering those responsible for October 7th.

Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population. But Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza.

This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined.

More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Most of whom are not Hamas.

Thousands and thousands are innocent women and children.

Girls and boys also orphaned.

Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displaced.

Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin.

Families without food, water, medicine.

It’s heartbreaking.

We’ve been working non-stop to establish an immediate ceasefire that would last for at least six weeks.

It is notable that while Biden said the US is working for an immediate ceasefire, he did not say permanent. Israel wants the ability to revisit any ceasefire after six weeks.

Biden’s optimism for a ceasefire seems to have cooled. He had previously predicted there would be a ceasefire by this past Monday. In the meantime, the world was horrified by the killing of more than 100 Palestinians trying to get food from an Israeli aid truck.

As Biden spoke, House Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib — the sole Palestinian American member of Congress — held a sign reading “Ceasefire Now.”

It would get the hostages home, ease the intolerable humanitarian crisis, and build toward something more enduring.

The United States has been leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Tonight, I’m directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters.

No U.S. boots will be on the ground.

This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.

This pier sounds like an incredible engineering feat. It’s not clear how soon it can be achieved. Also, this was the second time in the speech where Biden pledged that US troops will not get involved in an international conflict.

But Israel must also do its part.

Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the cross fire.

To the leadership of Israel I say this.

Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip.

Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.

As we look to the future, the only real solution is a two-state solution.

I say this as a lifelong supporter of Israel and the only American president to visit Israel in wartime.

This is a public warning to Israel and an insistence that Israel must allow a Palestinian state. But it is not particularly stern considering the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have died .

There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and democracy.

There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live with peace and dignity.

There is no other path that guarantees peace between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.

Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran.

That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

I’ve ordered strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities and defend U.S. Forces in the region.

As Commander in Chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and military personnel.

The strikes have not so far had a deterrent effect.

For years, all I’ve heard from my Republican friends and so many others is China’s on the rise and America is falling behind.

They’ve got it backward.

America is rising.

We have the best economy in the world.

Since I’ve come to office, our GDP is up.

He is welcome to say this. Most Americans do not currently seem to believe it.

And our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade.

We’re standing up against China’s unfair economic practices.

And standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

I’ve revitalized our partnerships and alliances in the Pacific.

I’ve made sure that the most advanced American technologies can’t be used in China’s weapons.

Frankly for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do that.

We want competition with China, but not conflict.

And we’re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against China or anyone else for that matter.

Here at home I’ve signed over 400 bipartisan bills.

But there’s more to do to pass my Unity Agenda.

Strengthen penalties on fentanyl trafficking.

Pass bipartisan privacy legislation to protect our children online.

CNN's Brian Fung notes that this call for a bill to regulate social media platforms is the third time in as many years that Biden has criticized the social media industry in his State of the Union speech.

Notably, however, Biden’s call specifically highlighted legislation to protect children’s privacy — not any of the myriad bills circulating that would impose targeted restrictions on social media companies .

The House could vote soon on a separate bill meant to pressure TikTok’s China-linked parent company to spin off the app used by 170 million Americans.

Harness the promise of A.I. and protect us from its peril.

Ban A.I. voice impersonation and more!

Fung also notes that Biden knows personally about this. A fake robocall campaign cloned his voice and targeted thousands of New Hampshire primary voters in what authorities have described as an AI-enabled election meddling attempt.

But US lawmakers have struggled to advance any meaningful AI legislation in the roughly one year since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made a rare and personal effort to put AI at the top of the congressional agenda.

Even as disinformation experts warn of AI’s threats to elections and public discourse, few expect Congress to pass legislation reining in the AI industry during a divisive election year.

And keep our one truly sacred obligation, to train and equip those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home, and when they don’t.

That’s why I signed the PACT Act, one of the most significant laws ever, helping millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins and who now are battling more than 100 cancers.

Many of them didn’t come home.

We owe them and their families.

And we owe it to ourselves to keep supporting our new health research agency called ARPA-H and remind us that we can do big things like end cancer as we know it!

Let me close with this.

I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while.

And when you get to my age certain things become clearer than ever before.

I know the American story.

Again and again I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation.

Between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future.

My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy.

A future based on the core values that have defined America.

Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality.

To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor.

Now some other people my age see a different story.

An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution.

That’s not me.

Biden put forward an energetic persona in this speech. And he pointed out that Trump is his age. Actually, Trump is four years younger.

The name “Trump” did not appear in the speech. But he was clearly top of mind. Trump has promised to be his supporters’ “retribution” and still does not admit to losing the 2020 election. Biden’s burden will be to convince voters who are wavering that trying to upend democracy should disqualify Trump.

I was born amid World War II when America stood for freedom in the world.

I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware among working people who built this country.

I watched in horror as two of my heroes, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy, were assassinated and their legacies inspired me to pursue a career in service.

A public defender, county councilman, elected United States Senator at 29, then Vice President, to our first Black President, now President, with our first woman Vice President.

In my career I’ve been told I’m too young and I’m too old.

Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures.

Our North Star.

The very idea of America, that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.

We’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either.

And I won’t walk away from it now.

My fellow Americans the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are it’s how old our ideas are?

Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are among the oldest of ideas.

But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back.

To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future of what America can and should be.

Tonight you’ve heard mine.

I see a future where we defend democracy not diminish it.

I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect other freedoms not take them away.

I see a future where the middle class finally has a fair shot and the wealthy finally have to pay their fair share in taxes.

I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence.

Above all, I see a future for all Americans!

I see a country for all Americans!

And I will always be a president for all Americans!

Because I believe in America!

I believe in you the American people.

You’re the reason I’ve never been more optimistic about our future!

The speech ended with many more exclamations and a vigorous Biden pumping people up.

So let’s build that future together!

Let’s remember who we are!

We are the United States of America.

There is nothing beyond our capacity when we act together!

May God bless you all.

May God protect our troops.

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Why the House voted to ban TikTok and what could come next

Deirdre Walsh

Bobby Allyn

The House passed a bill Wednesday that would require ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to sell the app or face a ban on U.S. devices. The legislation's fate is unclear in the Senate. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images hide caption

The House passed a bill Wednesday that would require ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to sell the app or face a ban on U.S. devices. The legislation's fate is unclear in the Senate.

The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to approve a bipartisan bill that would require ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to sell the social media app or face a ban on all U.S. devices. The vote was 352-65.

The legislation's fate is unclear in the Senate. The top two lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, and Mark Warner, D-Va., released a joint statement praising the House bill and urging Senate action but the timeline is unclear. Several lawmakers have suggested the Senate should hold hearings on the legislation before moving forward.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who chairs the House Select Committee on China and is the lead GOP sponsor of the bipartisan bill, maintains that the bill does not amount to a ban of the video-sharing app.

"What we're after is, it's not a ban, it's a forced separation," Gallagher told NPR. "The TikTok user experience can continue and improve so long as ByteDance doesn't own the company."

In practice, however, the bill would ban TikTok in the United States. Both the company and China, historically, have refused to consider divestiture.

TikTok has said the banning of a social media platform would amount to a violation of the free speech rights of millions of Americans.

Gallagher says classified and unclassified national security assessments show that the app is a threat to user privacy and that it's been used to target journalists and interfere in elections. Top officials from intelligence and national security agencies conducted a classified briefing on their analysis for all House members on Tuesday. Classified information is not made public, in part, because it deals with matters of national security.

However, officials have not offered public evidence of the Chinese Communist Party using the app for surveillance or propaganda purposes, though experts say it is theoretically possible that Beijing could use TikTok to push its agenda.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has also publicly testified about his concerns about the app, including during an appearance last week at a Senate hearing on worldwide threats to U.S. security. In that testimony, Wray told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that the Chinese government could use the app to control software on millions of devices, among other concerns.

"We're not sure that we would see many of the outward signs of it happening if it was happening," Wray said.

The bipartisan measure was unanimously approved last week by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

House Speaker is forced to skirt his own party to pass bills

Lobbying campaign flooded offices on capitol hill with calls.

Gallagher says the lobbying campaign that TikTok launched — with push notices using location information to connect users by phone to their member of Congress — proves why the bill is needed.

"You had member offices being deluged with calls, you know, teenagers crying and one threatening suicide and one impersonating one of my colleague's sons," he said. "That, to me, demonstrates how the platform could be weaponized in the future."

The bipartisan bill, dubbed the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," blocks any app store or webhosting services in the U.S. for ByteDance-controlled applications, including TikTok, unless the app severs ties to ByteDance, under a designation that it's subject to the control of a foreign adversary. The bill gives ByteDance up to six months to divest, and if it doesn't do that it would no longer be available in app stores in the U.S.

The bill also sets up a process for the president to address any future threats from any foreign-owned apps if they are deemed a national security risk. It also creates a system for users to download their own data and switch to an alternate platform.

Opponents cite freedom of speech and the economic impact of a ban

At 27 years old, Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost is the youngest member of Congress, and he opposes the bill.

"I think that it is a violation of people's First Amendment rights," he said. "TikTok is a place for people to express ideas. I have many small businesses in my district and content creators in my district, and I think it's going to drastically impact them too."

He and other opponents say the bill is being rushed through and that many lawmakers don't grasp the impact it could have.

TikTok declined an interview with NPR. In a statement, a spokesperson said: "The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country."

Advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have called the bill "censorship plain and simple," arguing that "jeopardizing access to the platform jeopardizes access to free expression."

Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi is the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on China and helped write the bill. He pushed back on the company's argument, telling NPR, "There's no First Amendment right to espionage, there's no First Amendment right to harm our national security."

The company stresses that it has established a data firewall by partnering with Austin-based software company Oracle. Dubbed "Project Texas," the new system routes all U.S. user traffic to Oracle, which now also controls the servers storing Americans' TikTok data. Still, the plan has not received the blessing from officials in Washington, who have said it falls short of a full breakup with ByteDance.

But Krishnamoorthi says he and other lawmakers reviewed the efforts and says the company's claims about its safeguards were false. "Whether it was TikTok saying that 'oh, American user data is not going to be accessible to anyone in China.' Again, wrong. That was also proven false. And then they said that American user data is not going to be used to target anybody again. Wrong. That was false."

Even opponents of the bill expected it to easily clear the House, so TikTok is focused on blocking action in the Senate. According to a source familiar with the effort, CEO Shou Zi Chew was in Washington this week and on Capitol Hill to discuss the bill with lawmakers.

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley backs the House bill. He says he's frustrated that Congress has failed to move tech legislation and argues TikTok is different from other apps. "The really only reason to ban it — it is a major national security concern — and that makes it very different from Google and Meta and the others who do all kinds of bad stuff but they are not effective subsidiaries of a hostile foreign government."

Presidential campaign politics could impact path for bill

Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, proposed a ban in 2020 when he was in the White House. But he does not support the House bill.

When he served as president he vowed to ban the social media app. Trump explained his new opposition in an interview with CNBC on Monday, saying that despite the possible security risk, he opposed a ban because it meant users would move to another platform that he considered more dangerous.

"There's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad with TikTok. But the thing I don't like is that without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people along with a lot of the media," he said.

President Biden's campaign posts regularly on TikTok, but the White House has said if a bill is sent to his desk he'll sign it .

If a law is enacted, the fight might not end there: TikTok has mounted legal challenges against other efforts to ban the app, and courts have sided with its argument that blocking TikTok violates users' First Amendment rights.

NPR's Claudia Grisales contributed to this report.

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House Passes Bill to Force TikTok Sale From Chinese Owner or Ban the App

The legislation received wide bipartisan support, with both Republicans and Democrats showing an eagerness to appear tough on China.

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United States House Passes Bill That Could Ban TikTok

If the tiktok bill were to become law, it would likely deepen a cold war between the united states and china over the control of important technologies..

“Two-thirds being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended — the bill is passed.” “This is a common sense measure to protect our national security.” “TikTok said its data is not accessible to China-based ByteDance employees. False. China-based employees routinely access this data, even unbeknownst to employees of TikTok U.S.A.”

By Sapna Maheshwari ,  David McCabe and Annie Karni

The House on Wednesday passed a bill with broad bipartisan support that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to either sell the hugely popular video app or have it banned in the United States.

The move escalates a showdown between Beijing and Washington over the control of a wide range of technologies that could affect national security, free speech and the social media industry.

Republican leaders fast-tracked the bill through the House with limited debate, and it passed on a lopsided vote of 352 to 65, reflecting widespread backing for legislation that would take direct aim at China in an election year.

The action came despite TikTok’s efforts to mobilize its 170 million U.S. users against the measure, and amid the Biden administration’s push to persuade lawmakers that Chinese ownership of the platform poses grave national security risks to the United States, including the ability to meddle in elections.

The result was a bipartisan coalition behind the measure that included Republicans, who defied former President Donald J. Trump in supporting it, and Democrats, who also fell in line behind a bill that President Biden has said he would sign.

The bill faces a difficult road to passage in the Senate, where Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, has been noncommittal about bringing it to the floor for a vote and where some lawmakers have vowed to fight it. And even if it passes the Senate and becomes law, it is likely to face legal challenges.

But Wednesday’s vote was the first time a measure that could widely ban TikTok for consumers was approved by a full chamber of Congress. The app has been under threat since 2020, with lawmakers increasingly arguing that Beijing’s relationship with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, raises national security risks. The bill is aimed at getting ByteDance to sell TikTok to non-Chinese owners within six months. The president would sign off on the sale if it resolved national security concerns. If that sale did not happen, the app would be banned.

Representative Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Republican who is among the lawmakers leading the bill, said on the floor before the vote that it “forces TikTok to break up with the Chinese Communist Party.”

“This is a common-sense measure to protect our national security,” he said.

Alex Haurek, a spokesman for TikTok, said in a statement that the House “process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: It’s a ban.”

“We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy — seven million small businesses — and the 170 million Americans who use our service,” he added.

On Wednesday, before the House vote, Beijing condemned the push by U.S. lawmakers and rejected the notion that TikTok was a danger to the United States. At a daily press briefing, Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, accused Washington of “resorting to hegemonic moves when one could not succeed in fair competition.”

If the bill were to become law, it would likely deepen a cold war between the United States and China over the control of many important technologies, including solar panels, electric vehicles and semiconductors.

Mr. Biden has announced limitations on how U.S. financial firms can invest in Chinese companies and restricted the sale of Americans’ sensitive data like location and health information to data brokers that could sell it to China. Platforms like Facebook and YouTube are blocked in China, and Beijing said last year that it would oppose a sale of TikTok.

TikTok has said that it has gone to great lengths to protect U.S. user data and provide third-party oversight of the platform, and that no government can influence the company’s recommendation model. It has also said there is no proof that Beijing has used TikTok to obtain U.S. user data or to influence Americans’ views, two of the concerns lawmakers have cited.

In an unusually aggressive move for a technology company, TikTok urged users to call their representatives last week to protest the bill, saying, “This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States.”

TikTok has spent more than $1 billion on an extensive plan known as Project Texas that aims to handle sensitive U.S. user data separately from the rest of the company’s operations. That plan has for several years been under review by a panel known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS.

Two of the lawmakers behind the bill, Mr. Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, said last week that lawmakers were acting because CFIUS “hasn’t solved the problem.”

It’s very unusual for a bill to garner broad bipartisan support but at the same time divide both parties. President Biden has said he would sign the bill into law, but top House leaders like Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, voted against the bill. Mr. Trump said he opposed the bill, but many of his most stalwart allies in the House, like Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, the No. 4 Republican in the House, voted for it.

The vote came down to something of a free-for-all, with unusual alliances in support of and opposed to the bill. Representative Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California and the former house speaker, sat in the chamber nodding along with hard-right Republicans like Representative Dan Crenshaw, Republican of Texas, as they outlined their support for the bill. At one point, she got up and crossed over to the Republican side of the aisle to confer with Representative Chip Roy, a hard-right Republican of Texas, who had vocally supported the bill on the floor.

Several Republicans and Democrats expressed their opposition to the bill based on free speech concerns and TikTok’s popularity in the United States. Some legal experts have said that if the bill were to become law, it would probably face First Amendment scrutiny in the courts.

Representative Maxwell Frost, a Democrat of Florida, said on Tuesday that “not only am I no, but I’m a hell no.” He said the legislation was an infringement of First Amendment rights. “I hear from students all the time that get their information, the truth of what has happened in this country, from content creators on TikTok.” He said he was concerned about Americans’ data, but “this bill does not fix that problem.”

There wasn’t any legislation last year in the aftermath of a fiery hearing with Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, despite bipartisan support to regulate the app. But concern among lawmakers has grown even more in recent months, with many of them saying that TikTok’s content recommendations could be used for misinformation, a concern that has escalated in the United States since the Israel-Hamas war began.

“It was a lot of things in the interim, including Oct. 7, including the fact that the Osama bin Laden ‘Letter to America’ went viral on TikTok and the platform continued to show dramatic differences in content relative to other social media platforms,” Mr. Krishnamoorthi said in an interview.

There’s also a chance that even if the bill is signed and survives court challenges, it could crumble under a new administration. Mr. Trump, who tried to ban TikTok or force its sale in 2020, publicly reversed his position on the app over the past week. In a television appearance on Monday, Mr. Trump said that the app was a national security threat, but that banning it would help Facebook, a platform the former president criticized.

“There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it,” he said.

Mr. Trump’s administration had threatened to remove TikTok from American app stores if ByteDance did not sell its share in the app. ByteDance even seemed ready to sell a stake in the app to Walmart and Oracle, where executives were close to Mr. Trump.

That plan went awry in federal court. Multiple judges stopped Mr. Trump’s proposed ban from taking effect.

Mr. Biden’s administration has tried turning to a legislative solution. The White House provided “technical assistance” to Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Krishnamoorthi as they wrote their bill, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said at a briefing last week. When the bill was introduced, a National Security Council spokesman quickly called the legislation “an important and welcome step to address” the threat of technology that imperils Americans’ sensitive data.

The administration has repeatedly sent national security officials to Capitol Hill to privately make the case for the legislation and offer dire warnings on the risks of TikTok’s current ownership. The White House briefed lawmakers before the 50 to 0 committee vote last week that advanced the bill to the full House.

On Tuesday, officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Justice Department spoke with lawmakers in a classified briefing about national security concerns tied to TikTok.

Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Krishnamoorthi had previously sponsored a bill aimed at banning TikTok. The latest bill has been viewed as something of a last stand against the company for Mr. Gallagher, who recently said he would not run for a fifth term because “the framers intended citizens to serve in Congress for a season and then return to their private lives.”

Sapna Maheshwari reports on TikTok, technology and emerging media companies. She has been a business reporter for more than a decade. Contact her at [email protected] . More about Sapna Maheshwari

David McCabe covers tech policy. He joined The Times from Axios in 2019. More about David McCabe

Annie Karni is a congressional correspondent for The Times. She writes features and profiles, with a recent focus on House Republican leadership. More about Annie Karni

TikTok Under Scrutiny

The popular video app, which is owned by the chinese company bytedance, is under pressure amid concerns over the handling of users’ data..

Efforts to Ban TikTok: Over the last year, lawmakers in the United States, Canada and Europe have escalated efforts to restrict access to the app, citing security threats. Here is what to know .

In the United States: The House passed a bill  with broad bipartisan support that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell its hugely popular video app  or be banned in the United States. The move escalates a showdown between Beijing and Washington  over the control of technologies that could affect national security, free speech and the social media industry.

How TikTok Shares User Data: Internal documents show how TikTok employees have regularly posted user information , including the driver’s licenses of American users, on a messaging and collaboration tool called Lark.

First U.S. Ban: In November, a federal judge blocked Montana’s statewide ban of TikTok  from taking effect, at least temporarily preventing the nation’s first such prohibition on the app.

The Stakes: Even as U.S. officials are focused on the dangers of TikTok, many users disagree with those concerns. We spoke with nine young Americans  about how a ban would change their lives.

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President Biden wants to give homebuyers a $10,000 tax credit. Here's who would qualify.

By Aimee Picchi

Edited By Alain Sherter

Updated on: March 11, 2024 / 11:39 AM EDT / CBS News

Buying a home has become increasingly out of reach for Americans, who are grappling with a double whammy of high interest rates and surging home values. In his State of the Union address on Thursday, President Joe Biden proposed a new tax credit that would provide $10,000 to first-time home buyers. 

Biden is also proposing a separate $10,000 tax credit for current homeowners who sell their "starter home" in order to jump into a bigger house. That could help melt a real estate market in which homeowners who locked in low mortgage rates during the pandemic and are hesitant to move because they now face significantly higher mortgage rates. 

Biden's proposals — which must be enacted by Congress — were cheered by advocates of affordable housing, with National Housing Council CEO David M. Dworkin calling it "the most consequential State of the Union address on housing in more than 50 years." On a practical level, the tax credits would lower the cost of purchasing a home, an issue that affects Americans of all ages and stripes.

"Housing affordability has become a key issue for Americans spanning all demographics and political divides, and housing policy has mostly remained steady in recent congressional budgets," noted Moody's associate economist Nick Luettke in a report touching on Biden's efforts.

Here's what to know about the proposals. 

What are Biden's homebuying tax credits?

Biden is proposing two tax credits aimed at helping Americans buy homes at a time when housing affordability is near an all-time low .

Currently, Americans must earn a six-figure salary to comfortably buy a typical home, compared with $59,000 just four years ago. Home prices have surged about 27% since the start of the pandemic, while mortgage rates have spiked, making it costlier to purchase.

To help offset the cost of buying a home, Biden is proposing the following tax credits:

• A first-time homebuyer tax credit of $10,000
• A one-year tax credit of up to $10,000 to current homeowners who sell their starter homes

The tax credits are viewed as a bridge to help people afford a home while mortgage rates are high. As a result, they wouldn't be permanent, but instead would be offered for homebuyers who purchase properties in 2024 or 2025, a senior Biden administration official told CBS MoneyWatch.

The Federal Reserve is expected to cut its key interest rate later this year, which would ease the cost of borrowing for all types of loans, from mortgages to credit cards.

Who would qualify for the tax credits?

First-time homebuyers would qualify for an annual tax credit of $5,000 per year for two years, for a total of $10,000.

The one-year tax credit for current homeowners would be available to people who own starter homes, defined as homes below the median home price in their county. The owners would have to sell to another owner-occupant, rather than an investor, according to the White House. 

Both tax credits are geared toward "middle-class families," with the Biden administration official telling CBS MoneyWatch that the credits would be limited to households earning less than $200,000.

How would the tax credits impact the housing market?

The Biden administration said the tax credits would help unfreeze the real estate market and make homebuying more affordable for millions. 

The first-time buyer tax credit could help 3.5 million middle-class families buy their first home, with the tax credit providing an equivalent reduction of about 1.5 percentage point for two years on the median-priced home, the White House said in a statement. The homeowner tax credit would help about 3 million families buy a bigger home, it added.

"Many homeowners have lower rates on their mortgages than current rates," the White House said. "This 'lock-in' effect makes homeowners more reluctant to sell and give up that low rate, even in circumstances where their current homes no longer fit their household needs."

When would these tax credits go into effect?

That's unclear, because Congress would need to pass legislation to change the tax code — an uphill climb as Democrats and Republicans spar ahead of the November election. 

Passing tax credits could be "a particularly arduous task in an election year – though their inclusion in the address underscores the salience of the skyrocketing cost of housing for Americans nationwide," noted Luettke of Moody's. 

The White House wants to see Congress pass legislation to enact the tax credits this year, which would allow homebuyers and homeowners to receive the tax credits starting in the 2024 tax year. Homebuyers would receive the credit for a two-year period that they could claim on their tax returns starting with either the 2024 or 2025 tax year, the Biden official said.

Are there tax credits for building new homes?

Yes, Biden also proposed several new efforts to fund the construction of affordable homes and rental units. That includes a new Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit, which would provide an incentive to build or renovate so-called "starter homes," or properties geared for first-time homebuyers. 

The White House said the plan would lead to the construction of 2 million new units. 

Such proposals to build new homes and rental units may be more effective in dealing with the housing crisis than tax credits for homebuyers, some experts said. Because of underbuilding during the past decade, there is a severe  undersupply of housing across the U.S.

"Ultimately, the president's most substantial comments made about housing were those related to new construction," said LendingTree chief economist Jacob Channel in an email. "High home prices in the United States are largely a function of the fact that we simply do not have enough housing supply to meet demand and bring prices down."

• Real Estate

Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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