KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The U.S. economy is the “envy of the world,” President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address, pointing to strong job growth and legislation he said was powering a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing.
  • Biden proposed extending price negotiations to 500 prescription drugs, while also capping prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for all Americans.
  • A proposed $400-a-month tax credit would go to homebuyers for two years to help buy a new home, Biden said, while eliminating title insurance on home purchases could save up to $1,000.
  • While pledging not to raise taxes on taxpayers earning $400,000 or less, Biden said he wanted to extend tax cuts that are expiring in 2025, while raising taxes on corporations and billionaires.

President Joe Biden used his State of the Union address Thursday night to lay out his economic vision for a second term ahead of the 2024 presidential race and tout policies he said could bring down prices for Americans.

During his address, he spoke on several economic issues, from home ownership to taxes to healthcare costs to jobs. Here are four key points from Biden’s speech.1

Biden Says Job Growth is Powering the Economy

Biden praised the strength of the U.S. economy, saying it created 15 million new jobs in three years, accelerating the recovery from the 2020 pandemic.

In addition to touting historic growth for Black and Hispanic workers, he said the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act has helped spur more U.S. manufacturing, creating 800,000 domestic jobs. He noted that some of these jobs paid six-figure salaries and didn’t require a college degree.

Proposals Would Cap Health Care Costs

The Inflation Reduction Act gave Medicare the power to negotiate prices on a handful of prescription drugs. Biden said he now wants to expand that power to cover 500 drugs.

“Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere in the world. It’s wrong and I’m ending it,” he said.

Biden also proposed other caps on drug prices, including extending the $35 cap on the cost of insulin to all Americans, not just those on Medicare. He also proposed a $2,000 annual cap on prescription drug costs, extending to all Americans a program that will soon be available to seniors on Medicare.