, saying the matter is now closed in his opinion. this is about 25 minutes.

>> please welcome chairman pete aguilar. [applause] >> hello, hello. thank you so much, colleagues. it is unquestioned that the reason house democrats have been so successful is because of the close cooperation between our caucus and the white house. specifically the work of leader jeffries and speaker nancy pelosi working in close coordination with our friends at the white house. this year alone we have avoided a default, prevented a shutdown, and stand ready to meet the national security needs that this country faces. we are working in lockstep to put people of our politics, and if we are going to truly finish the job, we need that strong partnership, and we need to be able to work in tandem with our

friends at the white house to deliver for the american people. and the person responsible to help guide our caucus and to instill unity of purpose is our democratic leader, hakeem jeffries. [applause] rep. jeffries: chairman aguilar, good afternoon, house democrats. [applause] all of you, chairman aguilar, whip clark, speaker emeritus pelosi, all of my amazing democratic colleagues in the house. it is a high honor and a distinct privilege to have this opportunity to present someone who really needs no

introduction. president biden is a good man who has been working hard to make life better for everyday americans, and together we will finish the job. [applause] now these are challenging times, and we are working together to address issues of concern to the american people related to the economy and housing affordability, national security, public safety, and, of course, our challenges at the border, but let me be clear. because of the leadership of president biden working with house democrats and our colleagues in the senate, we have made real progress on behalf of the american people. through the lens of how it started versus how it is going. how it started, versus how it is

going. when joe biden first took office, he inherited a once in a century covid-19 pandemic that shut everything down. because of the leadership of president biden working with house democrats we put shots in arms, money in pockets, kids back in school, and now the american people have the freedom to spend time with their family without being masked up or sheltering in place. when president biden first took office in washington d.c. it had been infrastructure week every other week, but nothing got done until president biden showed up. because of the leadership of president biden working with house democrats, we are finally

fixing our crumbling bridges, roads, tunnels, airports, water systems, sewer systems, mass transportation system, and now high-speed internet access is available to millions of americans for $30 less a month. [applause] when president biden first took office, the american people were understandably dismayed, were uncertain about the prospects of ever being able to do something about the gun violence epidemic in the united states of america. because of the leadership of president joe biden working with house democrats, we passed gun safety legislation for the first time in 30 years that will save lives and laid the foundation for us to do more. how it started versus how it is going. president biden first took office, there were millions of

veterans who had served this country suffering from brutal exposure to burn pits, toxic substances and agent orange and where without access to adequate health care. because of the leadership of resident joe biden working with house democrats, there are no more than 4 million veterans in the united states of america who have access to the health care that they need to live a life of dignity and respect. how would started versus how it is going. [applause] when president joe biden first took office, the country, the world being ravaged by extreme weather events like hurricanes, powerful storms, wildfires, and floods, and many americans, particularly younger ones, uncertain about whether anything would ever be done to change the situation. because of the leadership of

president joe biden working with house democrats, we invested in the largest way in the history of the world in combating the climate crisis to turn the situation around. and ensure there would be clean water, clean air, and clean energy in every single community. can i give you one more? [cheering] when joe biden first took office, the cost of insulin for the average american family was $4,000 a year. because of the leadership of president biden working with house democrats the cost of insulin right now for millions of americans is $35 a month. how would started versus how it is going. under the leadership of president joe biden we have made tremendous progress here in the united states of america. joe biden is a compassionate

public servant, a skilled leader, the comeback kid who is helping the american turnaround story. we know that president joe biden is a man with a plan to finish the job on behalf of the american people, and so it is my honor to present to you the 46th president of the united states of america, the honorable joseph rob and biden -- joseph robinette biden. ♪ pres. biden: hello, hello, hello. please, thank you.

i should leave now. thank you also very, very much. i hear my buddy, nancy pelosi. nancy, thank you. i love you. i really do. [applause] steny hoyer is here. he has been living on the western shore of delaware for a long time. good to see you, steny. is jim clyburn here? if jim is here he is the one who has me standing here. i want to thank him. [applause] and catherine and pete, thank you to all of you. let me say a few things before i get started with our discussion. first, i will not be very long, i promise. the special counsel release their finding today about the

handling of classified documents. they reached the conclusion i believed they knew all along that would, that no charges should be brought in this case. [applause] as many of you know, this was an exhaustive investigation going back literally more than 40 years. 40 years when i became a united states senator as a kid. i was a kid, 29 years old. i cooperated completely. i did not throw up any roadblocks, i sought no delays. i was so determined to get the special counsel they needed i went forward with a five hour interview over the two days of october 8 and ninth last year even though israel had just been attacked by hamas on the seventh. i was in the middle of handling an international crisis, but i was especially pleased to see the special counsel make clear the start differences between this case and donald trump.

as the special counsel wrote, and i quote, several material distinctions between mr. trump and mr. biden up as whiskeys are clear by his republican counsel. most notably after given multiple chances, continuation of the quote, to return classified documents and to avoid prosecution mr. trump allegedly did the opposite. according to the indictment, he not only refused to return documents for many months. he also enlisted others to destroy evidence and then lie about it. in contrast, mr. biden turned in classified documents to the national archives, the department of justice, consented to research of multiple locations including his homes and said for a voluntary interview and in other ways cooperated with the investigation. that is the distinction among others. [applause] bottom line is the special

counsel in my case decided against moving forward on any charges. this matter is now closed. [applause] i continue to do what i have always done, stay focused on my job like you do. my job of being president. that means going to work with all of you every single day i can. thank you for being great partners. just this week house democrats showed how united you are. you defeated the mayorkas impeachment resolution. [applause] and i have no doubt she will get out of this hospital bed. i talked to them. after, not before. the israeli supplemental. all this shows that when we are united we can beat house

republicans in their cynical political games. [applause] you have been incredible partners and delivers historic results for the american people. i traveled to many of your districts. i see the results and how you came through one of the toughest periods of our history. vaccinating america, rebuilding america, tilting prices down and delivering for everyday americans. recent washington post headline, falling inflation and rising growth the united states in the world's best recovery. end of quote. [applause] because of you. some of the good ideas that you guys have done. i would like to use my time to talk about the future. i know what it means to finish the job from my perspective. we made progress, making the biggest corporations only begin to pay their fair share. we have to keep everything in

place when the republicans kept changing the deals about spending and the like. remember those 50 corporations that did not pay a penny in taxes and made $40 billion? yes what? they are paying a corporate tax of 50% and we are able to reduce the deficit. when we are not done. trump's $2 trillion tax that benefited corporations and exploded the deficit, and it is coming up for a decision soon what we will do. he always said he wanted to not only keep it but increase it. finishing the job means gutting the tax cut. we went from 750 beginners before the pandemic to 1000. do you know what their average tax rate is? 8.3%.

that is less than a teacher or firefighter, and i go down the list. i promise to begin a minimum tax of 25%, and if we did that it would raise $440 billion. 25%, $440 billion to deliver childcare, eldercare, and so much more, and reduce the deficit, and we are also planning for a long-term effort i think we have to deal with the tax structure in a way. no matter where i go when i speak at a business run i say raise your hand if you think the president tax system -- -- present tax system is fair. i mean in practical terms. finish the job meanings -- means beating big pharma again by lowering costs for everybody. my republican friends on that, it not only lowers your talked about dealing with insulin, $35

a month. it the individual a lot of money, but guess what it saves the taxpayers $160 billion, reduces the debt by $160 billion. the things we are doing not only help people, but they reduce the deficit and are good economic policy, because medicare does not have to pay those exorbitant prices. finishing the job means $35 insulin not just for medicare, $45 insulin for every -- $35 insulin for everybody. lower drug prices for prescriptions. we got that into law. giving americans more protection by expanding the affordable health care act. finishing the job means making housing more affordable, more

accessible, protecting and strengthening the social security system and medicare. republicans wanted to put it on the chopping block. remember the last date of the union when the talked about -- finishing the job means protecting fundamental freedom. passing the john lewis voting rights act finally and making roe v. wade the law of the land. the law of the land. beating the nra again, banning assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, which we did before. continuing our fight to save the planet. with every new grid -- bridge, factory, high-speed rail, every poisonous lead pipe removed. i see something else happening right now and in the future. pride is returning. when i pushed all of these

programs i said we will -- i will be president of every state. some of you are more interested colleagues go out and hold press conferences and say it was a disaster. what is that blonde woman's name ? anyway, she is talking about all that is going on in her district. anyway. [laughter] what happened to a lot of people particularly in the midwest and the northwest is that for years and years you go to a factory that employs 800, 1000, 1200 people. mom and dad had worked there, grandpa, grandma, and they had pride in what they did. all of the sudden america decided i would rather take my

factory, move it overseas because the labor is cheaper, and then import the product. not anymore. not anymore. guess what, folks. there is a provision in the law that i did not know existed until about eight years ago. that is when they had legislation in the 1930's dealing with the issue whether or not labor unions had the right to organize, what protections they had. most democratic presidents did not know or pay much attention to it. it said any money that congress appropriates and goes to the president of united states for public purpose, that president should hire american workers and american companies to do it. [applause] we are investing in america. we are bringing back pride in the community, pride in our country, so i want to thank you for doing the job you are

elected to do. it matters to the american people and we are in a position to win it in 2024, i think. we have to make the contrast, the choice crystal clear to our friends on the others side and make it easy for us. this is not your father's republican party. they shout about a problem, then do nothing to solve the problem. the bottom line is republicans have to decide. who do they serve? it is not hyperbole. who do they serve? donald trump or american people? we have worked so hard to deal with the border and all the other issues that we have, and guess what? donald trump, allegedly i cannot prove this, i am told, he said if you support that i'm coming after you.

i do not know the exact words. weaponizing a political attack for those problems. we are here to serve the american people. that is the job. serve the american people. we have to make that clear. if we do, we win. just look at 2020, remember? we were not supposed to do well. we won. 2022, the red wave was coming, and guess what? it crashed up on the rocks. in 2020 every close race we won. when voters have a choice between what we stand for and trump and the maga republican stand for, we win. [applause] which makes trump and his maga friends losers.

when we win we have to do with the old-fashioned politics way, we have to get out the vote and aggressive grassroots operations to get people registered. we cannot take anything for granted. in 2020 i rent because i thought everything in this country we stood for, everything we believe in, everything that makes america america was at risk, and i spoke to that end i think people thought i was being hyperbolic at the time. what do you mean our democracy is at risk? i made a speech in independence hall. what do you mean we are in a battle for the soul of america? people do not say that anymore. they know the stakes are higher than ever. we have made more progress in three years because of you than most presidents have an eight years, but it could all be wiped out in the selection, so we have to stay focused on what we have to do. we must keep the white house, we must keep the senate, and we must take back the house.

[applause] with all of you sworn in again and hakeem jeffries as speaker of the house, and when we do that we will be able to look up so many generations from today america democracy is working,