puppies with a purpose. a serious purpose. and that does it for this edition of andrea mitchell reports. follow the show online, on facebook and twitter at mitchel reports. chuck todd starts right now. if it's friday, president biden hits the road. he's about to deliver remarks on the importance of passing his agenda as the white house pushes congress to reach a deal and do it soon. they want to have something to sell voters not just in next year's midterms but in this year's november elections. plus an fda panel is about to hold a key vote on whether or not to approve a booster shot for johnson & johnson. vaccine recipients as it also examines the potential benefits of mixing and matching vaccine doses in limited circumstances. and later, t the first big test of the polls before next year's midterms. can democrats hang on in virginia in terry mcauliffe is

trying to turn the race into a referendum on trump. we'll tell you how and why he wants to do that, ahead. welcome to "meet the press day ". president biden is hitting the road in an effort to build some public support for his agenda as the white house is signaling a growing impatience with the state of negotiations among democrats and congress to pass it. the president is dweering up to deliver remarks in connecticut to highlight the potential benefits on the issue of child care. just a critical piece of a multitrillion dollar agenda that a lot of democrats see as vital for working family's lives and vital for their own political fortunes as the party tries to hang onto narrow congressional majorities. in a real way, the midterms

unofficially begin in two weeks. it's a race which is often really a pretty good foreshadower of sorts of what the following year's midterm environment is going to look like for both parties. and right now it's a tight race in virginia. so for the white house, for democrats, and for the democratic gubernatorial candidate, it's an added sense of urgent -- urgency to have things wrapped up. >> let's get everybody in a room, lock the door, and get this thing done, what do you need? all these folks up here, they love to do their press conferences. do your job. vote and get this done. >> the white house is also signaling the impatience with the talks on capitol hill. that's a bit curious. it makes it look as if they're in the backseat in these negotiations. and it introduces a strange question for us to ask, but it is this. who is in charge of the talks right now over biden's agenda if

it's not the white house and the president? meanwhile there are few indications that a deal is close. senators mamplgen and sinema have disagreements with the size and scope. they don't even agree with each other, let alone the rest of the democratic conference. bernie sanders is pushing for the top line number even though the president, speaker of the house, pretty much everybody else acknowledged it's going to be lower to pass. but he hasn't given up on expanding medicare benefits which is costly, but that is a sticking point. and we still haven't seen them all in the same room to try to hammer out the differences. frankly, until you see that, it's hard to see a deal coming together any time soon. mike memoli is following the president in hartford, connecticut as he tries to sell his agenda. also with us, somebody who has had his share of back and forth with congress. former obama white house prez secretary robert gibbs. mike, let me start with you. this has been an interesting

week here in washington, because the president largely had the town to himself. right? you had the senate out. the house was marginally in session. and let's just say i thought he'd be more of a dominant presence this week than he was. but he is out there today selling his agenda. >> yeah. that's right. we've heard more urgent language from the white house podium. saying yesterday it's time to move forward with the negotiations, the day before she said that time is not unlimited, but we haven't necessarily seen that same urgency in the president's schedule by any means. we have been hearing for the last few weeks how the president was going to be hitting the road more to speak to the american people about what was in his agenda and why it was so important to get it through. well, this is just the second event focussed on build back better in the last two weeks. last week he was in michigan. obviously there was also the cancelled event they postponed and rescheduled on vaccines. we haven't seen that same

urgency, but the white house is staring some real and self-imposed deadlines in the face, and there is increased urgency. that's why we're hearing from the white house that t time to maybe knock a few heads as well, and chuck, one of the informal deadlines is the virginia election. i think terry mcauliffe has been on the phone with gavin newsom. what did we see ahead of the california recall? biden, the administration took more urgent and some people thought overdue stricter actions as it relates covid and vaccine requirements in the runup to that election, and now we're seeing increased urgency in response to the urgency being conveyed by mcauliffe as he looks at his campaign. one of the other big deadlines is the glasgow climate summit. the president wants to go saying i've signed. we've taken these actions and want you to do the same. and so beyond the political focus here at home, he also

doesn't want to go empty handed on the world stage, especially given what we've seen in terms of his foreign policy record over the last few months as well. >> mike, why connecticut? is this for rosa who is a key player and house democrats? is this something else going on? why connecticut? >> it might be more about chrissed to who is a good friend from the senate dedicating the dodd center at the university of connecticut today. but then you see child care on the agenda, you know rosa who has been the champion of this for decades is a part of that as well. >> gotcha. the chris dodd event. that helps explain the travel schedule a little bit there. mike memoli on the road with the president in hartford, connecticut. we'll see you when we hear from the president. thank you, mike. lee ann, i have to tell you, it was a little jarring yesterday to find out the white house was not happy with the state of negotiations which means is congress in charge of the negotiations? and if so, who is running it?

>> yeah. it's a good question, chuck. and i'm not really sure. so usually speaker pelosi runs these negotiations. right? but we haven't really seen any public meetings. there hasn't been any public statements, and we're not really sure where things are landing. we do know that because there was a report in the new york times yesterday that senator kyrsten sinema was in europe fundraising for the democratic party, that we received a statement from her office that did not confirm that she was in europe, but it did say that phones are everywhere, and that just this week senator sinema has spoken to president biden, leader schumer, and congressional democrats. notice she didn't mention speaker pelosi in that conversation or in that statement. but congressional democrats are the ones, the moderates she speaks to a lot including people like stephanie murphy and kathleen rice and others in that group.

but there are -- seem to be no very -- you know, public negotiations happening at this stage. senator schumer put out a statement yesterday to his colleagues that was mostly focussed on voting rights, that they're going to vote on next week. he did reiterate they hope to come to an agreement by the end of the month on this multitrillion dollar bill. he said that over and over again. this is just another way he said it. >> lee ann, yesterday the white house c we heard the president biden seems to now want to make sure that the bipartisan infrastructure bill is passed by the end of this month regardless of where the rest of the negotiations are. is that -- has that taken hold at all on capitol hill? or is that just aspirational hope? >> well, the progressives have not said that's okay, and they have enough votes to block whatever happens. and that's what they did last time. and so it's unclear that he has to work that out with the progressives and the

progressives have not publicly said they're okay with that, chuck. >> all right. we'll find out. lee ann caldwell on capitol hill for us. thank you. all right. let me bring in robert gibbs. robert, i don't know about you, but i'm having a lot of 2009, 2010 flashbacks. you were going to get health care by the fourth of july, before the august recess. you remember. march 2010. what is the -- how important do you think it is at a minimum that there is some progress made, something is passed, maybe the infrastructure gets passed and signed before virginia and is virginia a deadline to pay attention to? >> i do think it is important, chuck. as you mentioned, the biden administration is way ahead of where we were on health care. so let's give them some credit on that. i don't know whether that's giving them credit or taking it away from us. but look, i think that i take

former governor terry mcauliffe on this. i think he clearly wants to be able to show the democratic base his base that something is happening in a positive way in washington. i think look, i think the virginia race is a little different in that washington media market is dominant in that electorate unlike it might be in other places in the country. so i have no doubt that people are turning on their local news and seeing what's happening on capitol hill differently than they may be in arizona. so look, i think it is important. i think it's getting the basic sided. it's frankly showing, and i think this is why this debate is important. it's showing what can be delivered with a democratic majority. that's why i think in the end, failure really isn't an option here. it has -- something has to get done whether it's before the virginia gubernatorial election or by the end of the year f. something has to get done to set

up both a change in policy, but also political message for 2022. >> the president's the leader of the party. the white house is the number one convening place you can have. right? if you need to convene a meeting, convene. so this is sort of an awkward way of saying i know ultimately the white house is going to be in charge of the negotiations. but it does seem as if they're trying to have a handle off approach. how long can they keep this hands off approach before it sort of gets out of hand? or is it already too late? >> no. i don't think it's already too late. my guess is not unlike health care, there's a lot of conversations, meetings and phone calls that are happening that we don't know about. i think one thing that was obvious both in health care and i think in the last month on capitol hill is public negotiation isn't necessarily moving us toward the end of this game. so i think it's important that those lines of communication happen. i think chuck schumer and nancy pelosi are going to be in charge

of getting the votes. to your improirjts there's only one person involved in this equation that can bring this process to an end, and that's the president. i'm sure he's got senatorial tendencies after having spent a lot of time in that body, but i think both speaker pelosi last week and president biden through press secretary john saki are showing their angst in leading this process to come to its natural end. i think that's the beginning of moving toward that? >> i want to get you to react to something charlie cook wrote. it's a grim picture he's drawing. parties taking over have two basic dangers. the first is overreaching, going further than those voters in the middle can stomach. the second danger is appearing to be ineffective or even incompetent. they are getting killed on overreach and incompetence.

if misreading is a mandate -- if it's a harsh assessment. how -- what has to happen for that assessment not to stick in your mind? >> two things i think are important. one is i think people are going to have to come to the understanding that it isn't going to be a $6 trillion bill. irt isn't going to be a $3.5 trillion bill. it's going to be a 1.5 to $2 trillion bill. and i think that's essentially what pelosi and biden have been signaling. we have to understand that we're not going to get what somebody might want in a perfect world. and secondly, i think having the president continue to be out there, but members of congress have to talk about not just how much, but what. we know from the polling that many aspects of the build back better agenda are highly popular. but not that many people understand that's what democrats are fighting for. because if they are paying any

attention, they're just seeing the top line debate around 3.5 or 1.5 or 2 .5. it's time to get into the issue. >> this is one of the issues. i understand eventually have to pass this for reconciliation. i don't understand why they didn't try to look like they were tackling a piece of the agenda, a different piece every week. so you could do child care one week. you could do the pre-k one week, community college one week. and i mean, you tell me. how would you sell it? what do you pick when you're throwing everything in the bucket? i do think that it's in some ways, it's too big to sell at times. >> well, it certainly i think that's going to be one of the challenges. but i think you're going to have to continue to do events like the president's doing now, and again, i think everybody is in the same boat and they've got to row in the same direction. we've got to get every member of congress out there talking about what's important to their district. and to the families in their districts or in their states. i think if democrats wait for

ten weeks before the 2022 elections to think that tv and digital advertising is going to solve this, it's not. everyone needs to get to an agreement to get on the same page and sing from that hymnal. >> a veteran of sometimes the democratic intraparty negotiations, we -- >> go braves. >> well, good luck to them. it will at least be fun. i love freddie freeman. breaking news on prosecution to those tied to january 6th insurrection. an officer has been heired. officer michael riley for allegedly communicating with a rioter and telling them not to post anything or speak about the riot. he deleted facebook messages

between himself and a rioter after the rioter was arrested in an effort to conceal the communication. officer riley is making his initial appearance before a judge this hour. pete williams will join us for the latest later in the show. in some disturbing news of political violence from overseas today. police have confirmed that british lawmaker david ammis was stabbed to death while holding regular meetings with constituents. the conservative member of parliament was attacked at a met dis church in a coastal town. police say he was treated by medical officials but died at the scene. police also say they've heired a 25-year-old suspect who had a knife. he was 69 years old. we'll bring you more developments on that story as we get them. an update from the fda as a panel is voting for the issue of booster shots. yesterday was moderna.

today johnson & johnson. the big changes in the spanish e electrical. we'll dig into what they are and what they mean. up next. ey are and what they mean up next. growing up in a little red house, on the edge of a forest in norway, there were three things my family encouraged: kindness, honesty and hard work. over time, i've come to add a fourth: be curious. be curious about the world around us, and then go. go with an open heart, and you will find inspiration anew. viking. exploring the world in comfort. oh! are you using liberty mutual's coverage customizer tool? so you only pay for what you need. sorry? limu, you're an animal! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

what do we want for dinner? burger... i want a sugar cookie... wait... i want a bucket of chicken... i want... ♪♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win. we are the next. the next generation of visionaries. rule breakers. game changers. and world beaters. we certainly aren't here to do what's been done before. and neither are we. at palo alto networks, we are ready to secure our digital future. we innovate to outpace cyberthreats. so you can make the next day safer than the one before. we've got next.

welcome back. an fda advisory committee is set to vote any minute on whether or not johnson & johnson's booster shot should be recommended for the approximately 15 million americans who have already received the single dose vaccine. we told you yesterday there are a number of red flags in the johnson & johnson data, and the independent panel of experts is discussing the answers virtually. chief among them are the small sample sizes and faulty test results that may have rendered some of the immunity data unusable. the panel will review a study from the institute of health cha demonstrates mix and matching booster doses is safe and effective. this is day two of the meeting. moderna's third shot was

recommended for the same group of people recommended for the third shot -- people over 65 and those who have immune deficiencies, high risk adults. it usually follows the advice of the advisory committee. the cdc must give one final seal of approval before more boosters roll out. it could happen been days. the cdc, of course, has its own advisory committee that will meet next week as part of this approval process. we have one of the doctors that advises that committee. the medical director of the national foundation for infectious diseases. he joins me now. doctor, i'm going to -- word the issue this week. the johnson & johnson data looks like this to us in our nonscientific minds. it looks like a lot of people agree a booster shot is needed but it looks like johnson & johnson's data isn't very good,

and so if that's the issue, what do you do? >> well, actually, i think the concept of mixing and matching, chuck, looks very attractive to many of us. namely, al al though you've started with johnson & johnson, your second dose, which would be your booster could be either pfizer or moderna. and i think that study you just alluded to that they're going to be looking at this afternoon actually reinforces that. because the data showed that after that mix and match, you get a very large antibody rise. so that looks very attractive to many of us, and i think a lot of people out there who received johnson & johnson have heard about this. and are looking forward to it. >> i'm curious why -- why is it that these -- the mixing and matching is effective, considering these are -- if you told me that moderna and pfizer mixing and matching were effective, you'd be like okay, they're both mrna vaccines. why is mixing and matching this

sort of viral vector vaccine with an mrna effective? >> it looks to be because the immune stimulus is slightly different. you get a very large immune response, and you get a diverse immune response, one that will cover the various variants quite effectively. they've been doing this really in effect in europe for quite some time. their astrazeneca vaccine is similar to johnson & johnson, and they've been doing mixing and matching to good effect. >> i want to ask you about the doses now for these vaccines, particularly as we're about to open up vaccines for kids under the age of 12. we know some of the european countries have decided to do one dose instead of two because of the issue of the heart inflammation risk, particularly in young adolescent boys. what's your sense on this, and do you think there needs to be

further investigation here by cdc and fda? it does seem as if we're -- we don't have the research yet to know for sure. >> well, first of all, pfizer who is first in line with their vaccine for children age 5 to 11 has reduced the dose in their vaccine. it's one-third of the dose that was required for adolescence in young adults, and they get a very good immune response, and their immediate safety profile is comparable. so that looks really pretty good. secondly, we -- although we don't know everything we would like to know about this myo car jiets, fortunately it gets better quickly in people who have it. but the disease associated with covid is much more frequent and a much greater danger to the children. >> and that's the point here.

with covid is worse than any risk that you might get with the vaccine. finally, there's finally it looks like a nominee for fda, considering we're in the middle of a pandemic and we're nine months into this administration, nearly ten, and we're just now getting a nominee, first, been there before, how much confidence do you have? some lawmakers are concerned about califf's ties to the pharmaceutical industry. should they? >> i don't think so. he has experience. i would look forward to his taking over at the fda. i think it's time we have a full-time complete director. >> i'm curious how much of an impact has this been on the fda not having a full-time direct director? >> i don't think so very much, dr. peter marx who is overseeing

the vaccine development part, they've been working very, very hard. so i don't think the lack of the director has really held things up at all, as a matter of fact. >> but getting one will only make things improve. doctor, good to see you. thank you. >> up next, a tight race, terry mcall you have is going all in. i'll show you why next. l in i'll show you why next you've saved, how much you'll need, and build a straightforward plan to generate income, even when you're not working. a plan that gives you the chance to grow your savings and create cash flow that lasts. along the way, we'll give you ways to be tax efficient. and you can start, stop or adjust your plan at any time without the unnecessary fees. talk to us today, so we can help you go from saving...to living. ready for subway's eat fresh refresh™?

that's the new and improved italian b.m.t.®, with new artisan italian bread, new black forest ham, and new mv- you gotta refresh to be fresh! hold up, false start on the spokesperson. save big. order through the app. ♪

they say durable is the new black. save big. orokay, no one sayspp. that. but, it's true. just ask sharon. after three years these barstools still look brand new. even with these crazy lovebirds. [ squak ] alright i'll take the barstools! you can keep the birds. okay. y'all gotta hear this next one. kevin holds all my shirts and shorts. he even stuck with me through a cross country move. yeah, i named my dresser kevin. wow! i need a kevin that holds all my clothes. alright. i am sold. oh! are you using liberty mutual's coverage customizer tool? so you only pay for what you need. sorry? limu, you're an animal! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

glenn youngkin is a great gentleman. i hope glenn gets in there and he'll do all the things we want a governor to do. >> i was honored to receive president trump's endorsement. >> welcome back. that's part of a new ad that the virginia democratic candidate is airing to capitalize on remarks made by trump. youngkin didn't sanction the event the former president spoke at but he's caught in the political bind many find themselves in, needing support from the forever trumpers and the never trumpers in order to win, especially in an increasingly blue state like virginia. mcauliffe has run that add 30 times in northern virginia.

there's a reason. let me show you behind the numbers why this is important. what's great about mcauliffe's race is we have his 2013 race. he won that one, it was close, less than three points. his victories, margins in arlington county, fair faction, won by 22. alexandria won it by 49 points. let me show you what happened with president biden. won virginia by 10. arlington, another 14 points higher than what mcauliffe did in '13. nearly double in fair fax, and another 13 points higher in aleck sand dree ya. you see why presidential voters intensity in the northern virginia suburbs. let me show you this. here's the raw vote. this is what's amazing here. look at the raw total vote in 2013. there were 2.2 total million voters in the race. look at joe biden's number in 2020. just his number here in virginia was more than this number down

here. so it just shows you, again, the growth in the electorate is huge if these folks show up. that's the big if. this is where president trump comes in. let me show you the drop off. presidential turnout in 2012, drop off 2013. 42% fewer voters. 2016 to 2017, drop off of 3 3%. what's it this time? if it's in the 40s, that's good news for youngkin. if it's in the 30s, that's good news for mr. mcauliffe. we have break news to follow up on the fda advisory committee. they voted unanimously to recommend johnson & johnson booster shots for all recipients 18 plus. the second shot is at least two months after the first shot. it goes to the fda for final approval. up next, on the final day of hispanic heritage month, a dive into how the key voting block isn't a block anymore and what the changing spanish electorate

means for the future of our elections. (vo) at t-mobile for business, unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. whether it's ensuring food arrives as fresh as when it departs. being first on the scene, when every second counts. or teaching biology without a lab. we are the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. without trade-offs. unconventional thinking. it's better for business.

when i was diagnosed with dupuytren's contracture, i waited to get treated. thought surgery was my only option. but then i found out about nonsurgical treatments. it was a total game changer.

learn more about the condition at factsonhand.com today marks the end of national hispanic month. hispanics aren't voting as a block. in blue states like california they voted for biden. in texas and florida, biden's margin victory among hispanics was smaller and donald trump got north of 40%. then georgia, biden flipped. in that case hispanics were instrumental. they voted democratic. the democrats won their senate races in getting control to the democrats. and due to the growth of the

hispanic population and the fact they won hispanics by a nearly 2 two to one margin. we are in atlanta talking about turning out the hispanic vote, and we also have -- jose with us. morgan, let me start with you. that's the point where you've been trying to make. this is not a voting block. these are voting blocks and this is looking -- the hispanic vote is looking more like a tapestry. >> reporter: that's right. and, in fact, chuck, let me give you the big picture. we're talking about the state of georgia where the latino population grew by 32%, and that was just since the last census. the group we're walking with now, they are canvassing as we speak going door to door talking to latino voters. this is an important voting block. they knocked on every single household of every single

eligible latino voter back in 2020. and as you saw, eventually the state did turn blue. they say they think this could be largely due to their outreach efforts with the latino community. in fact, i want to introduce you to the co-founder of the organization we're with. what is it you are doing differently this time around? >> i think we're building on what we've done in the past elections, speak to each community in their language, to their issues. and we invite our membership across the country that is from those communities to speak to them. it's much more powerful when you have puerto ricans talking to puerto ricans and -- >> can you talk about that. we were talking about people treat the latino community as if this is one big massive voting block. but when you're talking to different groups, you're talking about different issues. what are the differences? how do you tailor it? >> i think it's clear now we're not a monolith. we have many subgroups, and core issues, puerto ricans in georgia

were impacted by a hurricane. mexicans have to deal with immigration issues and mixed status. you have to speak to the core issues and who is going to deliver on those issues. >> chuck, they're doing really smart things like microtargeting with their data to make sure they can get the message out there. >> you know, and morgan, you've been around the country. i'm curious, the georgia latino voter versus the california latino voter versus the texas latino voter. how would you differentiate and what would you do -- how would you explain it? >> chuck, i can't tell you how happy i am you asked that question. if you look at the data, urban latino voters, for example, dominicans in new york, they're caring more about health care issues, for example. but if you're talking to rural georgia, perhaps mexican immigrants, they may care more about immigration policy. so then you go to cubans. cubans care about the protests that happen, the protests that happened on the island this

summer. if you talk to puerto ricans, they're concerned about hurricane maria. these are the competing issues. organizers say you can speak to this group as a whole if, in fact, you are talking about progress for this community as a block. >> all right. morgan on the ground for us in georgia. . thank you. let me bring in jose. jose, this is where -- when i look at the state of florida and somebody would ask me who is the swing vote? i'd say it's a younger cuban in south florida. that this is probably the person that might be on the fence, the 50/50 voter. but that isn't the voter i would identify in texas or identify in arizona. how would you classify the differences between the hispanic south florida swing voter versus texas versus georgia? >> that's such an interesting question, chuck. i think that the best way to define it is there is no latino vote.

there are just latino voters. and depending on where they live and where their parents are from, they have a sensitivity and a perspective that may be different. for example, the mostly mexican american voter, for example, in california, can think one thing about immigration. the mexican/american voter that is in the border towns of texas may see immigration as a much more directly impacting thing in their lives. and have a different perspective on it. south florida is a key issue. right? i think that what kind of has changed in south florida is that the younger cuban american vote and the older cuban american vote seem to coalesce more recently. >> i saw that. yeah. >> morgan radford was talking about the protests on the island when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets asking for freedom.

i think that it is to the peril of politicians to ignore that reaction, and to think that the united states simply shouldn't deal with that issue. because it's not an important issue. let's talk about haitian americans in south florida, chuck, that you know so well. a community that is vibrant and contributes so much to our country. what we're seeing in the del rio texas last month were 7,000 haitian migrants who were expeditedly sent back to the island. many hadn't been there since 201 for the earthquake. also i think plays a part. >> you know, it's interesting. in your beat, you know this so well. we use the expression all politics is local. for different hispanic voters, i think there's a version of this. i'd love for you to explain. what's happening in cuba and what's happening in venn day la and colombia can impact their

vote and how they'll vote dnr in south florida, but you don't see that with mexican americans. they don't seem to be as motivated by the politics of what's happening in mexico. why is that? how would you explain that? >> that's a good point. i think there's a difference between immigrants and exiles. but this is a great conversation, chuck. i think that the impact is -- i mean, mexican americans and i have been serving the community for over 20 years in telemun doe. they're very concerned with what's going on in mexico, and they care about what the president is or isn't doing. many of them voted from the united states for the presidential elections. but it's what's going on in cuba, the 62 years of dictatorship that continue to cause pain for the cuban people as we speak. people are still taking to intertubes to try and get out of that island nation as we speak,

chuck. so it's a very real, vivid, open wound. >> jose, you know what i'm up against here. our producers told me we've got to go to the president. great conversation. here's president biden in connecticut. when i got elected to the united states senate, and i was 29, i wasn't old enough to be sworn in yet, and between the time i got elected and the time i actually ultimately went to the congress, i turned the eligible age of 30. but also in the meantime, i -- there was an automobile accident. my wife was shopping and my daughter was killed, my wife was killed, and my two young boys, beau and hunter were badly injured and hospitalized for a long time. so i didn't -- i thought well, i'll get some help. and i was making a decent salary as a u.s. senator, $42,000 a year. that was a decent salary, and i could not afford the child care.

everybody wonders why i commuted every day 265 miles a day to be back and forth with my children. i could afford the train. it was cheaper to be able to take it every day so i could kiss my boys -- we'd have breakfast in the morning, and when they got older, get them off to school, and i'd get in the train and come home on time to -- if i got home on time to have dinner, it was seldom i'd get home on time to have my dinner and they'd save their desert, and i got to see them and kiss them good night. it made me realize how difficult it is for the vast majority of people who need help. i'm lucky. i had a mother nearby, sisters, my best friend who quit her job temporarily and moved in with

her husband to help me raise my kids. most people don't have that option. i've been aware of the concern and the lack of access and the lack of financial ability to have child care for a long time. and i want to thank the team here at the capitol development center for welcoming us today. and i want to thank the connecticut leaders you have here. ned, you're one of the best governors in the united states of america. you really are. [ applause ] >> you really are. you stand up for what you believe in and you don't back down. and mr. mayor luke, who is an afghan war veteran. we were talking about all the work he's done with the former governor who is placing afghan refugees coming out of afghanistan. we're continuing to get people out. thank you for what you do. i really mean it. richard blumenthal who was back in those days the attorney general when my son beau was

alive and the attorney general. not a joke, but he looked to richard for help, and thanks for the way you took him under his wing. you made a difference. and chris murphy who has been not only a real soldier, but he has stood up and stuck up for me and chris. it matters. it matters when things are tight. stand up and make the case. i appreciate it. and john and i, john larson and i do back a long way. and joe, you can't deny me. there's no way out. and rosa, i don't have time to keep you, but the first time i came up this way, i was -- my son was going to yale law school, and her mother was a committee -- alder woman. i was up on a ladder helping

them paint the place he'd just rented. there was a knock on the door. this lovely woman came in and said where's biden? where's joe biden? i was up on a ladder. i had paint all over me. i was a u.s. senator. i said i'm here. she said no, where's biden? where's biden? she brought the chief of police over to let him know everything was going to be taken care of. but your mother was something else. that whole expression the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. rosa, you've been an incredible leader in all things having to do with the health and well being of children and women. and we would not have had the legislation we're now trying to continue were it not for you. and jim -- [ applause ] . >> you're the real deal as well as, you know, johanna, my -- the comment i got from johanna, i get from everybody. where's jill? where's jill?

i'm jill biden's husband. she is now in -- i think she's in new jersey or virginia. i'm not sure, after teaching 15 credits this week at the community college, and she's out there making the case. i'm here today to talk about what's fundamentally at stake in my view for the families of not only connecticut because you're ahead of the curve with what you've done on your own but for our country. for a long time america set the pace across the globe. for most of the 21st century we led the world by a significant margin in the investments we invested in our own people. in our people. not only our roads, our highways, bridges, but in our people and our families. and we didn't just build the interstate highway system and invest to win the space race. we also were among the first to provide access to free education beginning at the turn of the 21st century. it was a distinction and a decision to invest in our

children and our families and it's a major reason why we're able to lead the world in the 21st century. one of the few nations of the world with universal education for everyone beginning in what was then first grade. but somehow along the way, we sort of stopped investing in our people. our infrastructure has fallen from the best in the world, according to the world economic forum, our infrastructure ranks 13th in the world. roads, bridges, a whole range of things. but just as important as the organization of economic community and cooperation, now ranks america, 35 out of 37 major countries when it contingency to investing in early childhood education and care. said another way, the world is catching up and passing us. jill, dr. biden, has an expression she uses for real. any country that outeducates us will outcompete us. we cannot be competitive in the

21st century, in this global economy, if we fail to invest. that's why i propose two critical pieces of legislation being debated in washington right now. both bills, they're not about left versus right, they're not about moderate versus progressive or anything else that pits one american against another. these bills are about competitiveness versus complacency, but opportunity versus decay, about leading the world or continuing to let the world move by us. folks, a lot of folks know what's at stake in the infrastructure bill. it's about rebuilding the arteries of our economy, putting people to work in good paying jobs. estimates from wall street are that it will create up to 16 million new jobs over time. good paying jobs, union jobs. not five bucks an hour, $7.50, but 40, $50 an hour, you know, prevailing wage. you can raise a family on it, you can live with some dignity

and pride. replacing lead water pipes. there's over 40,000 schools across america where you have to be worried when you go to the water fountain whether there's lead in the water and children are being poisoned. we can turn on the faucet so that every place in america is sure the water is clean and able to be drunk. laying transmission lines for a modern and resilient energy grid. making high speed internet affordable and available everywhere in america, urban, suburban, rural. parts of the country are being left behind and there are parts of the country in states that are economically prosperous that are being left behind. meeting the moment on the climate crisis, and in the process creating millions of good paying jobs. you know, i've had a couple of conferences already held, i'm going to cop 26 in scotland shortly. what i had, i guess i had 71 heads of state on the first one i did in the white house. and i said, and people are

starting to talk about it now, not about me, but about the idea. when i think climate, i think jobs. good paying jobs. union jobs. this is an opportunity. we're the only country in the world that has consistently turned difficulty into opportunity. we have a chance to not only make this world more livable but to actually create more opportunity for people. making landmark investments in public transit and rail, increasing efficiency, reducing emission. there are millions of kids getting out of diesel school busses, inhaling the air, guess getting asthma. we should have electric buses. the bottom line is i wanted to come here today because too many folks in washington still don't realize it isn't enough just to invest in our physical infrastructure. we also have to invest in our

people. that's what the second bill does, the build back better initiative. seeing children at this center is a perfect reminder of what our economy needs to badly to be able to thrive. you all know the statistics, the teachers here, a child coming out of a single parent house will hear literally a million fewer words spoken, not different words, spoken, than the child coming out of a middle class household. so no matter what you say, you start them at the same age, at age 6 or 7, 5 or 6 in school, they're already behind the curve. already behind the curve. how can we compete in a world of millions of american parents, especially moms, can't be part of the workforce because they can't afford the cost of childcare or elder care, i might add, elder care. they're the sandwich generation, getting crushed. here in connecticut the average annual cost to bring your

toddler to a quality childcare center is about $16,000 a year. that's what it is around the country, some places more, some place a little less. a lot of money. that's $16,000 after taxes. after you pay your taxes. so the average two-parent family, with two young kids, spends 26% of their income on childcare every year. my build back better plan is going to change that. it's going to cut the cost of childcare for most connecticut families in half. no middle class family will pay more than 7% of their income on childcare. none. [ applause ] that's going to help parents get back into the workforce and make ends meet or maybe care for that, we have to do the same, we'll talk about it today, the other piece you all know, is elder care. you have 80,000 people waiting to qualify under medicare and there's no spaces. we can afford to do this. at any rate, we have to provide

businesses with tax credits to build onsite facilities. you as legislators are way ahead of the curve, you decided for people working as legislators, there should be a place for your children. well, you know, what we want to do is make sure we encourage businesses to do the same, to get a significant tax cut, to be able to, if they have an onsite facility, to take care of their workers' children, so you go to work with your child, and you have a serious facility onsite. well, studies show that when you have onsite care for a children's center, businesses, businesses, the business itself, have less employee turnover, less absenteeism and higher productivity. we can show you all those studies. it's real. we can't afford to lag behind other companies. when american made 12 years of public education universal more than a century ago, it gave the best educated, best prepared workforce in the world to the rest of the world.

but if we're just eyeing public education today, all of a sudden we said, okay, what are we going to do? we need free public education. does anybody think we think 12 years is enough in the second quarter of the 21st century? the fact is today only about half of 3 or 4-year-olds in america are enrolled in early education childhood -- childhood education like you're doing here. in germany, france, and the uk, even latvia, the number of children in those countries enrolled is 90%. 90%. my plan gets us back on track, pradz two provides two years of high quality preschool for every child in america. it also makes investments in higher education by increasing pell grants. i don't know if i can get it done but i also had proposed free community college like you've done here in the state of

connecticut, to help students of lower income families attend schools. make sure young people from every neighborhood have a shot at good paying jobs in the future. we also extend this lady's child tax credit. [ applause ] which is finally a tax cut for the middle class. [ applause ] now, look. my friends on the other side never had any problem with $2 trillion in tax cuts for the very wealthy. look, i don't think you shouldn't be able to make a million or a billion dollars. i'm a capitalist. but guess what, i'm also, for 36 years, the poorest man in the congress. but i make big money now, i'm the president. but all kidding aside, i don't think we should punish anybody. but just pay your fair share. just pay your fair share. [ applause ] you know, the issue that has

been championed by rosa for years, in the past, if you paid your taxes and had an income high enough that you were able to take a $2,000 per child deduction, you could actually write it off your taxes. but how many families do you know of cops and firefighters and schoolteachers that don't have -- pay that much in tax because they pay tax, but there's nothing -- you say you're going to get $4,000 back for your kids. well, you know, it's not refundable. either it comes off your tax bill, or you don't get it at all. the american rescue plan, which these folks voted for, and i'm very proud, it's a real game changer, it started our economy moving again, recognized that people in lower incomes don't get the benefit of that tax breaks because they don't have that much to deduct. so we make it refundable, permanently refundable, so you get that back over the years. if you didn't have -- if you only had a thousand dollars in taxes and you had three kids,

you end up in a situation where you get $5,000 refundable to you. they would pay you, the government would pay you. and we increased that amount in the near term to $3,600 for every child under the age of 6. $3,000 for dependents between the ages of 6 and 17. the money is already a game changer for working families. it's projected to cut child poverty in connecticut, one of the wealthier states like delaware, in connecticut by 40%. [ applause ] really, it's a life changer. the build back better act says that you get the first half of it paid you and the second half you get paid on a monthly basis. people, hard working families, are getting a check in the mail on the 15th -- today is the 15th, isn't it? -- or their bank account just like your social security check. it's for your children, being able to raise your