Biden vows 'America is coming back’ after year of collective suffering due to pandemic

Roughly 20 minutes into his address, Biden touted the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package he signed into law earlier that day, pitching his first major legislative accomplishment to a prime-time audience.

Biden called the bill, known as the American Rescue Plan, a “historic piece of legislation that delivers immediate relief to millions of people.” He ticked off a list of what it includes: thousands of dollars in direct checks, extended unemployment benefits, lowered health care premiums, aid for small businesses, and payments that will slash the rate of child poverty.

President Biden said Thursday that he will direct all states, tribes and territories in the country to make every person 18 and older eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus by May 1.

Promising more guidance “in the coming weeks” on what people can do once they are fully vaccinated, he recalled the goal set earlier in his term: 100 million shots in Americans’ arms in his first 100 days in office.

“Tonight, I can say we’re not going to meet that goal,” he said. “We’re going to beat that goal, because we’re actually on track to reach this goal of 100 hundred million shots in arms on my 60th day in office.”

In his prime-time address Thursday, Biden emphasized the safety of three coronavirus vaccines that had been approved for use in the United States and urged people to listen to Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert.

“He’s assured us the vaccines are safe. They underwent rigorous scientific review. I know they’re safe,” Biden said.

The president noted that he and Vice President Harris, along with their spouses, have all received the vaccine, most of them publicly “in front of cameras for the world to see so you could see us do it.”

In his prime-time address Thursday, Biden denounced the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic, saying that members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community have been “attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated.”

“So many of them are fellow Americans. They’re on the front lines of this pandemic, trying to save lives," Biden said. "And still, still, they’re forced to live in fear for their lives, just walking down streets in America. It’s wrong. It’s un-American, and it must stop.”

Addressing Americans on Thursday night, Biden lamented that “too often, we’ve turned against on another,” referencing the divisiveness of face masks in particular — “the easiest thing to do to save lives.”

“States, pitted against one another, instead of working with each other,” Biden said, reflecting a year after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. “Vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans who’ve been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated.”

Biden’s embrace of universal masking contrasted sharply with his predecessor, who for months resisted experts’ calls to wear face coverings. Absent nationwide rules, states took varied approaches to mask mandates, which some Americans fiercely opposed as restrictions on their liberties despite extensive evidence that mask-wearing could slow the coronavirus’s spread.

Opening up his first prime-time address since being inaugurated, President Biden on Thursday mourned the year of “collective suffering, a collective sacrifice” that has passed since the pandemic-related shutdowns began in the United States.

Biden also knocked the previous administration’s response to the pandemic, without naming former president Donald Trump.

“A year ago, we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked, denials for days, weeks, then months that led to more deaths, more infections, more stress and more loneliness,” Biden said Thursday night.

The New York State Assembly on Thursday authorized an investigation of sexual harassment allegations against New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D), a potential first step toward impeachment.

The decision to authorize a probe by the Judiciary Committee came after more than three dozen Democrats in the lower house called on Cuomo to resign.

“The reports of accusations concerning the governor are serious,” Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie said in a statement authorizing the investigation. “The committee will have the authority to interview witnesses, subpoena documents and evaluate evidence, as is allowed by the New York State Constitution.”

As part of the White House push to reopen school buildings, the Biden administration plans a new program to screen teachers, staffers and students for the coronavirus.

This month, the Department of Health and Human Services will award grants to implement testing programs in elementary and middle schools, as well as other congregate settings. The hope is that testing of asymptomatic people will help identify people who are sick before they know it, and before they can spread the virus to others.

The funding is set at $650 million, which the White House described as an “initial investment.” Earlier discussion of the idea pegged the cost at several billion dollars, and it was unclear whether the administration planned to spend that much.