|
"The President has accepted the invitation of the Speaker of the
House to address a Joint Session of Congress on April 28, the
night before his 100th day in office," the White House said in a
prepared statement.
The speech will give Biden, 78, an opportunity to deliver a
sales pitch to millions of Americans for his $2.3 trillion
infrastructure proposal, which is the subject of a partisan
debate in Congress.
It comes as he faces several daunting domestic challenges,
including the coronavirus pandemic and record numbers of
migrants crossing the U.S. border with Mexico. Abroad he must
manage confrontations with Russia over Ukraine, China over
Taiwan and Iran over its nuclear program.
Biden on Tuesday called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to
reduce tensions over a military build-up on Ukraine's border and
proposed a summit of the estranged leaders to tackle a raft of
disputes.
Biden sent former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and former Deputy
Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg to
Taiwan on Tuesday in what a White House official called a
"personal signal" of his commitment to the island and its
democracy.
In February, Pelosi said she would invite Biden to deliver the
speech after Congress passed his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief
bill. Biden signed the legislation on March 11.
(Reporting by Eric Beech, Steve Holland and Dan Whitcomb;
Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Gerry Doyle)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
