A4 The BulleTin • Thursday, april 29, 2021
PRESIDENT BIDEN’S FIRST ADDRESS TO CONGRESS | KEY TAKEAWAYS
TODAY
Biden goes bold, calling for sweeping change
‘America is on the move again,’ he
told a sparse, socially distanced
crowd in the House chamber
Los Angeles Times and
Associated Press reports
President Joe Biden, who has already
signed one of the costliest measures
in U.S. history to help the country re-
bound from the coronavirus crisis, is
pushing for even more aggressive, long-
term actions to reshape American life
in his first address to a joint session of
Congress on Wednesday.
The nationally televised, prime-time
speech represents a coda to Biden’s ini-
tial 100 days in office, during which he
focused on expanding vaccine distribu-
tion to slow the infection and death toll
from COVID-19, and a pivot toward an
increasingly ambitious agenda that, if
successful, would make his presidency
among the most transformative in gen-
erations.
“Tonight, I come to talk about crisis
and opportunity,” Biden said.
“America is on the move again,” he
added. “Turning peril into possibil-
ity, crisis into opportunity, setback into
strength.”
Key takeaways from the night:
Biden’s four-letter word: Jobs
Biden uttered the word “jobs” a whop-
ping 43 times, according to his prepared
text.
It’s perhaps no surprise for an admin-
istration that has made beating backing
the pandemic and getting Americans
back to work the central guideposts in
the early going of the administration.
Biden noted that the economy has
gained some 1.3 million new jobs in the
first few months of his administration
— more than any in the first 100 days of
any presidency. But he quickly pivoted
to the need to pass his American Jobs
Plan if the country is going to sustain
momentum and get back to the historic
low levels of unemployment prior to the
pandemic.
He also aimed to frame his push for
the U.S. to meet its international obli-
gations to slow the impact of climate
change as, ultimately, a jobs plan.
“For too long, we have failed to use the
most important word when it comes to
meeting the climate crisis,” Biden said.
“Jobs. Jobs. For me, when I think about
climate change, I think jobs.”
Taking credit for turning the tide
Biden said “America’s house was on
fire” when he took office, citing the dev-
astating COVID-19 pandemic, its dam-
aging economic impacts and the insur-
rection at the Capitol.
“Now — after just 100 days — I can
report to the nation: America is on the
move again,” Biden said, adding the na-
tion is now “turning peril into possibil-
ity. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into
strength.”
It’s a tried and true strategy by the
president to take credit for the more
Chip Somodevilla/Pool/Getty Images North America
President Joe Biden addresses a joint session of Congress on Wednesday in a socially dis-
tanced House chamber. Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sit
behind him, symbolizing the historic nature of the speech — it’s the first time both of the
top positions in the presidential line of succession have been held by women.
hopeful moment, as the coronavirus
vaccines have provided a path out of the
pandemic.
Republicans, meanwhile, made it
clear they see things differently, with
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., implicitly cred-
iting President Donald Trump for the
Biden’s good fortune.
“This administration inherited a tide
that had already turned,” he said in pre-
pared remarks from the official GOP
response to Biden’s ad-
dress. “The coronavi-
rus is on the run!”
From polling, it’s
clear Biden’s view is
winning the day — at
least thus far — with
more Americans ap-
proving of his job per-
Sen. Tim Scott,
formance than ever
R-S.C., offered
the Republican did of Trump, with
strong marks even
rebuttal.
from Republicans for
handling the pandemic.
“What we heard from the President
tonight was a resounding message of
hope, unity, and resilience,” Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Ore., wrote on Twitter. “The
American people elected Democrats
to fight for the priorities that matter to
American families, and that’s just what
we’ll continue doing.”
Making the case for big government
Biden made the full-throated case for
an American embrace of big govern-
ment.
He ticked off details of some of his
plan for $1.8 trillion in spending to ex-
pand preschool, create a national family
and medical leave program, distribute
child care subsidies and more.
The “American Families Plan,” a
just-released 10-year proposal, would
increase taxes on the wealthy to expand
educational opportunities, provide paid
family leave and offer tax credits to re-
duce the cost of child care. Low- and
middle-income families would be eligi-
On our website
Read the president’s full remarks and
coverage of the official Republican
rebuttal: bendbulletin.com/nation
ble for two years of preschool and two
years of community college at no cost.
To pay for the proposals, Biden wants
to end the favorable tax rate on capital
gains from stocks and other assets for
people earning at least $1 million per year
and to undo Trump’s reduction in the top
income tax rate for wealthy Americans,
restoring it to 39.6% from 37%.
The plan comes on top of his pro-
posal for $2.3 trillion in spending to
rebuild roads and bridges, expand
broadband access and launch other in-
frastructure projects.
Republicans have shown little inter-
est in Biden’s spending plan. But Biden
and his aides say all of this new spend-
ing is wise investment in Americans —
and doable in time of low interest rates.
Much of it can be paid through raising
taxes on the wealthy and would go a long
way toward addressing the frailties of life
for the middle class and working poor
exposed by the pandemic, Biden argues.
While achieving bipartisan backing
in Washington for the proposals is a
longshot, Biden seems to betting he can
win support across the electorate.
He even made a thinly veiled bid to
blue-collar and non-college-educated
white men who voted for Trump in No-
vember, noting that 90% of the infra-
structure jobs that will be created by his
spending plans don’t require a college
degree and 75% don’t require an associ-
ate’s degree. “The Americans Jobs Plan
is a blue-collar blueprint to build Amer-
ica,” Biden said. “And it recognizes
something I’ve always said: Wall Street
didn’t build this country. The middle
class built this country. And unions
built the middle class.”
Smaller audience, more security
Pandemic restrictions left the presi-
dent speaking to a relatively sparse gath-
ering of fewer than half the 535 mem-
bers of Congress in the House chamber,
rather than to the usual packed audience
of lawmakers, Supreme Court justices,
Cabinet officials, military leaders, diplo-
mats and other guests.
Lawmakers were spaced three or four
seats apart, including in the gallery nor-
mally reserved for guests. During most
years, a handful of members stake out
the seats along the center aisle hours in
advance to appear on television shaking
the president’s hand as he enters. This
year, no one was allowed inside until
two hours before and each had a seat
assigned by the speaker’s office.
Metal fencing and National Guard
troops ringed the Capitol, a reminder
of the enhanced security that remains
in place months after the Jan. 6 siege by
Trump supporters. Biden described the
riot in his speech as “the worst attack on
our democracy since the Civil War,” an
event that continues to cast a shadow
over the building.
Vaccines, vaccines, vaccines
The U.S. has vaccinated a greater
percentage of its population than al-
most any other country. Nearly 43% of
Americans have received at least one
dose, and 29% are considered fully vac-
cinated, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
“Go get vaccinated America,” Biden
said Wednesday. “Go and get the vacci-
nation. They’re available.”
Targeting China
Biden warned lawmakers that they
have to work harder and work together
to make the United States competitive
in the world and not cede the 21st cen-
tury to China, calling it an “inflection
point in history.”
He said that in conversations with
Chinese President Xi Jinping, it’s clear
that Xi is “deadly earnest about becom-
ing the most significant, consequential
nation in the world.”
“The rest of the world is not waiting
for us,” he said. “I just want to be clear:
From my perspective, doing nothing is
not an option.”
Noting a historic moment
Biden mentioned a historic develop-
ment at the very opening of his address.
After taking the podium, Biden greeted
the two women standing behind him
with a “Madam Speaker” and “Madam
Vice President.”
He then declared, “No president has
ever said those words — and it’s about
time.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi already knows
what it feels like to sit on the rostrum
and introduce presidents for their
speeches. She has sat there for several ad-
dresses by Presidents George W. Bush,
Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Pe-
losi and Vice President Kamala Harris
are both California Democrats.
e e
Today is Thursday, April 29, the
119th day of 2021. There are 246
days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On April 29, 1992, a jury in Simi
Valley, California, acquitted four
Los Angeles police officers of
almost all state charges in the
videotaped beating of motorist
Rodney King; the verdicts were
followed by rioting in Los Ange-
les resulting in 55 deaths.
In 1945, during World War II,
American soldiers liberated the
Dachau concentration camp.
In 1967, Aretha Franklin’s cover
of Otis Redding’s “Respect” was
released as a single by Atlantic
Records.
In 1961, “ABC’s Wide World of
Sports” premiered, with Jim
McKay as host.
In 1991, a cyclone began strik-
ing the South Asian country of
Bangladesh; it ended up killing
more than 138,000 people.
In 2008, Democratic presiden-
tial hopeful Barack Obama de-
nounced his former pastor, the
Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for what
he termed “divisive and destruc-
tive” remarks on race.
In 2010, the U.S. Navy officially
ended a ban on women serving
on submarines, saying the first
women would be reporting for
duty by 2012. The NCAA’s Board
of Directors approved a 68-team
format for the men’s basketball
tournament.
Ten years ago: Britain’s Prince
William and Kate Middleton
were married in at London’s
Westminster Abbey.
Five years ago: Joey Meek, a
friend of Dylann Roof, the white
man later convicted of killing
nine Black parishioners during
a Bible study at a Charleston,
South Carolina, church pleaded
guilty to lying to federal author-
ities. (Meek was sentenced in
March 2017 to more than two
years in prison.)
One year ago: Scientists an-
nounced the first effective treat-
ment against the coronavirus,
the experimental antiviral med-
ication remdesivir, which they
said could speed the recovery
of COVID-19 patients. President
Donald Trump said the federal
government would not extend
the social distancing guidelines
that were expiring the next day;
he said he would resume his
own out-of-state travel.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Keith
Baxter is 88. Conductor Zubin
Mehta is 85. Singer Tommy
James is 74. Comedian Jerry
Seinfeld is 67. Actor Leslie Jordan
is 66. Actor Kate Mulgrew is 66.
Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 64. Ac-
tor Michelle Pfeiffer is 63. Rock
musician Phil King is 61. Singer
Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips)
is 53. Actor Uma Thurman is
51. International Tennis Hall of
Famer Andre Agassi is 51. Rapper
Master P is 51. Rock musician
Mike Hogan (The Cranberries) is
48. Actor Megan Boone is 38.
The Washington Post contributed to this report.
— Associated Press
OBITUARY
Find it all online bendbulletin.com
MICHAEL COLLINS • 1930-2021
David Leornard Lovik
Astronaut was Apollo 11 pilot
July 13, 1948 - April 8, 2021
Associated Press
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael
Collins, who orbited the moon
alone while Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin made their historic
first steps on the lunar surface,
died Wednesday. He was 90.
Collins died of cancer, his
family said in a statement:
“Mike always faced the chal-
lenges of life with grace and
humility, and faced this, his fi-
nal challenge, in the same way.”
Collins was part of the three-
man Apollo 11 crew that in
1969 effectively ended the
space race between the United
States and Russia and fulfilled
President John F. Kennedy’s
challenge to reach the moon by
the end of the 1960s.
Though he traveled some
238,000 miles to the moon and
came within 69 miles, Collins
never set foot on the lunar sur-
face like his crewmates Aldrin
AP file
Michael Collins takes a break
during training for the Apollo 11
moon mission in 1969.
and Armstrong, who died in
2012. None of the men flew in
space after Apollo 11.
“It’s human nature to stretch,
to go, to see, to understand,”
Collins said on the 10th anni-
versary of the moon landing
in 1979.
He is survived by two
daughters and grandchildren.
CLOCK SERVICE & REPAIR
Gloria Jean Mathews
of Bend, OR
Monte “Skip” Brown
of Bend, OR
January 20, 1945 -
April 21, 2021
Arrangements:
Baird Funeral Home of
Bend is honored to serve
the Mathews family. Please
visit our website,
www.bairdfh.com, to share
condolences and sign our
online guest book.
Contributions may be
made to:
Humane Society of Central
Oregon
www.hsco.org
61170 SE 27th St
Bend, OR 97702
541-382-3537
February 10, 1962 -
March 29, 2021
Arrangements:
Autumn Funerals, Bend
541-318-0842
www.autumnfunerals.net
Services:
Memorial Services will be
held on Sat., May 15 at 1
PM at the Christian Life
Center, 21720 Hwy 20,
Bend, OR 97701
David K. Dunn
of Bend, OR
December 19, 1948 -
April 13, 2021
Arrangements:
Baird Memorial
Chapel of La Pine is
honored to serve the Dunn
family. Please visit our
website, www.bairdfh.com,
to share condolences and
sign the online guestbook.
Gerald R. Lyons
of La Pine, OR
TIMESMITHY
Marvin Davidson || 541-241-0653
61419 S Hwy 97, Suite Q • Bend • Behind Richard’s Donuts
February 2, 1944 -
April 24, 2021
Arrangements:
Baird Memorial Chapel
of La Pine is honored
to serve the Lyons
family. Please visit our
website, www.bairdfh.com,
to share condolences and
sign the online guestbook.
Wayne emmett Shor-
treed of Terrebonne, OR
June 7, 1950 - April 23,
2021
Arrangements:
Autumn Funerals of Red-
mond is honored to serve
the family. 541-504-9485
Memories and condolenc-
es may be expressed to
the family on our website
at www.autumnfunerals.net
Services:
A celebration of life will
take place at Faith Chris-
tian Center, 1049 NE 11th
St., Bend, OR on May 22,
2021 at 10:00 AM.
Contributions may be
made to:
Partners In Care Hospice,
2075 NE Wyatt Ct., Bend,
OR 97701.
OBITUARY DEADLINE
Call to ask about our deadlines
541-385-5809
Monday-Friday 10am-3pm
Email: obits@bendbulletin.com
David Leornard Lovik set upon this world on July 13,
1948 in Lebanon, Oregon and moved away from us
on April 8, 2021. His parents were Gladys and Lloyd
Lovik and he grew up and graduated from high
school in Sweet Home, Oregon. Aft er high school,
David served in the Army and then att ended Oregon
College of Educati on. One of David’s proudest ti mes
was serving in the Army Honor Guard at Fort Meyer
in Washington, D.C. It was while att ending college
that he met Phyllis Elaine Rains. They were married in
June of 1971 and would have celebrated their fi ft ieth
anniversary this coming June. David worked for the
U.S. Post Offi ce for 30 Years.
David was a very acti ve ember of Elks Lodge #1371
where he serve as a board member and ran the school
supply program and was in charge of the gathering
and distributi on of toys as Christmas as part of the
Lodge’s food basket program. He was a huge fan of
all things Oregon State Beavers especially, football,
baseball, and girls’ gymnasti cs. David loved to travel
and was an avid reader, with a book always within
easy reach.
David was preceded in death by his parents, an older
brother Lloyd Marti n Lovik II, and older sister Rena
Evans, nephew Lloyd Marti n Lovik III and by Baron,
the best dog ever. He will lovingly be remembered
by his wife Phyllis, nephews, John and Bill Lovik and
Michael Evans and nieces, Tella Evans and Lisa Parr
and of course by his many friends.
A Celebrati on Of Life is yet to be scheduled. Donati ons
in David’s name may be made to the Christmas Toy
Fund at the Bend Elk’s Lodge #1371, 63120 Boyd Acres
Road, Bend, Oregon, 97702.
Arrangements handled by Baird Funeral Home. Please
visit www.bairdfh .com to sign the online guestbook.