By CRAIG MORRISON

The State of the Union address is given annually by the President of the United States to Congress to give information on the state of the union. At this address, the President usually proposes measures to Congress that he feels necessary. 

This year’s State of the Union Address was given on March 1 by President Joseph Biden.

This address covered topics such as of Eastern Europe conflicts, economy, child care, health care, immigration and Coronavirus.

With the invasion of Ukraine at hand during the time of the speech, President Biden felt the need to address the battle between democracy and autocracy. 

During his speech, Biden said, “In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security.”

This sentence is referring to the many countries around the world supporting Ukraine during this crisis.  Countries are sending aid in various ways to Ukraine such as supplying economic help, military equipment and medical supplies. President Biden feels that Russia is even more isolated from the world now with the help of these nations.

Biden said that Putin “badly miscalculated” when invading Ukraine. 

With the U.S. cutting off Russia’s banks from the international financial system, President Biden states the U.S. is “preventing Russia’s central bank from defending the Russian ruble, making Putin’s $630 billion ‘war fund’ worthless.”

President Biden also discussed the topic of funding the police. Biden made it clear that he proposes funding the police.

Biden said, “We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to fund the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities.”

Additionally, President Biden discussed the current state of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden spoke about how a majority of the country is now mask-free and most Americans are vaccinated. 

Biden said, “COVID-19 need no longer controls our lives”. 

The topic of inflation was also brought up during the address. 

President Biden stated that his “top priority is getting prices under control.”

He suggested that we achieve this goal with a few strategies. Firstly, he authorized releasing Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil. Biden also shunned price gouging and promoted America making its own products.

 Biden said, “Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America.”

He called for companies to lower the costs of goods, not the wages of employees. He wants America to start creating more cars, semiconductors, infrastructure and innovation. 

Towards the end of the speech, President Biden brought up his thoughts on cancer research. His plan is to “end cancer as we know it.” 

Biden aims to achieve this goal by increasing government funding to cancer research. He wants over the next 25 years for cancer death rates to decrease by 50%.