Mr. Biden hey, folks. Good afternoon. Before i start, i wanted to explain the delay. We wanted to make sure we were doing everything by the numbers. I got two covid tests this morning. Everything is clear. We wanted to make sure everything was clear before i came. We were supposed to have an event after this at a headquarters. But based on the crowd size and it being indoors, it was concluded that it was best not to do it. But i want to thank all of you. I want to thank matt. Matt, you are dead right. You were putting yourself on the line. And a lot of other people did all across this country. I want to thank the secretary of the treasury of local 951 for having me here today. Look, lets start i would like to start by acknowledging, which im sure all of you do as well, sending my prayers for the health and safety of the first lady and the president of the United States after they tested positive for covid19. My wife, jill, and i pray they make a quick and full recovery. This is not a matter of politics. Its a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously. Its not going away automatically. We have to do our part to be responsible. It means following the science, listening to the experts, washing our hands, social distancing. It means wearing a mask in public and it means encouraging others to do so as well. It means having masking mandates nationwide. The director of the c. D. C. , centers for disease control, dr. Redfield said, and i quote, he held up a mask, he said, these facemasks are the most important powerful Public Health tool we have. Then he held the mask up again and said, this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against covid than a vaccine. End of quote. Leading scientists from the university of washington tell us that we can save more than 100,000 american lives in the next 100 days alone if everyone wore a mask in public. So let me repeat that, because its so important. We can save 100,000 lives in the next 100 days, according to the head of the c. D. C. , if everyone wears a mask in public. So, be patriotic. Its not about being a tough guy. Its about doing your part. Wearing a mask is not only going to protect you, but also protects those around you. Your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister, husband, wife, neighbor, coworker. Dont just do it for yourself. Do it for the people you love. The people you work with. The seriousness of this virus also underscores that we need regular testing with results turned around rapidly and thats available to everyone. Its not just the folks in the white house or who travel with me that deserve regular testing. Its folks in the meat packing and Food Processing plants, Grocery Store workers, every single american deserves safety and peace of mind. And it means we need transparency. Those who test positive need to participate in Contact Tracing so that everyone who they may have exposed can get tested themselves. Thats how you stop transmission for any epidemic. Its basic. We need to take the science of fighting this disease seriously if were going to save lives. And above all, the news is a reminder that we as a nation need to do better in dealing with this pandemic. Taking these steps is how well protect ourselves. And just as important, is how we will protect one another. I hope you all those who are fighting this virus, including the first family, and so Many Americans today recover and recover soon. Our prayers are with the families of the more than 207,000 americans who have died from this virus. Many of them got up this morning, the breakfast table, there was an empty chair of someone they lost and they loved. We understand. And theres more than 7 million americans who are now infected, have been infected. That includes folks here in grand rapids and all across michigan. Especially all of you with ufcw who are on the front lines of this pandemic and on the front lines of this economic crisis. The ufcw workers who have always been on the front lines of fighting for dignity and respect you deserve. I know its been tough. This morning, the september jobs report came out. The last one before election day. Im grateful for all those who were able to get their jobs back, to work again. But theres fewer jobs than wed hoped for, and millions of families, millions are still wondering when it will be their turn to come back from the brink. And the signs, according to the national press, are not encouraging. Once again, the pace of job gains is slowing down. Once again, were seeing temporary layoffs turn permanent. This month marked the largest single month increase in longterm unemployment since we started keeping records in 1948. There are now an additional 781,000 americans who have been trying to find work for at least six months. Theyve been looking for work for at least six months and havent found it. And in the past, thats a sign for permanency for them. Were still down 647,000 manufacturing jobs nationwide since the crisis started. All told, we are now 30 million workers who have either lost hours, lost paychecks, or lost their jobs entirely. Participation in the labor force fell last month and remains sharply down since this crisis began, especially for women. Theres another roughly 700,000 people who have dropped out of the labor force, stopped looking for a job. The vast majority were women, demonstrating once again how this economic crisis has been especially tough on women and families in this country. This will be the first presidency in modern history to leave office with fewer jobs than when it came into office. Michigan has lost more than 361,000 jobs since the beginning of 2017. In fact, factories were already closing before covid, like the plant here in grand rapids. They announced back in january they were shutting down and cutting 210 local jobs. Manufacturing already slipped into a recession last year. The net loss of auto manufacturing jobs you saw here in michigan. And that economic pain was only amplified by the pandemic. Your schools and local businesses are closed, like all places around america. More than 26 million unemployment claims were filed by Americans Last month. 46 million americans have exhausted their emergency savings, and essential workers here in grand rapids wont forget how the ufcw members saw their jobs turned suddenly into a life and death task. Folks, today, todays report reinforces another painful trend. The continuing of what economists call a kshaped recovery. The k means, that letter going up, thats those on the top that keeps going up. While everyone else in the middle is going down and below. Were seeing things get worse. It means essential workers, ufcw workers, who sacrificed to keep us going through the pandemic, and continue it, are being left behind by the most unequal recovery in modern history. Because while workers are struggling, this is a fact, the top 100 billionaires in america have done pretty well. Just the top 100 of them. Theyve made up more than 30 billion this year, in the last nine months. And everyone else, though you keep hoping, you get the bottom of that kshaped recovery. You get the downward slide. Youre left to figure out how youre going to pay the bill and put food on the table, how to balance doing your job with being a teacher to your kids because their school has gone remote. Youre asked to risk your neck because you cant work from home for the risks of covid are kept outside. Because you work at a meat packing plant or an Assembly Line or at a checkout counter. You know, i do understand this is a scary time and uncertain time. I understand and i see you. Because i see the world from where i grew up in scranton, pennsylvania. A lot like grand rapids. It is full of an awful lot of good people busting their neck every day to do the right thing for their families. In scranton, my mom used to have an expression. She said, not just in scranton, but from the time she left there, she said, joey, nobodys better than you, joey. But everybodys your equal. My dads constant refrain after he lost his job in scranton, when there were no more work and we had to move to delaware, he moved away for a little over a year, come back every weekend to see us. By the time we finally a couple years down the road in delaware got to finally be able to buy a home, my dad used to use this expression. He said, joey, a jobs about a lot more than a paycheck. Its about your dignity. Its about respect. Its about your place in the community. These are the values that shaped my growing up, and i suspect most of you. They shaped my whole life. So i know and understood from the very beginning of consciousness about this that wall street and c. E. O. s didnt build this country. The middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class. Thats why ive laid out a comprehensive agenda not just to rebuild our communities, but to make bold investments so we can build back and build back better. And an independent analysis from wall street, moodys, projected that my plan will create 18. 6 million jobs, 7 million more than the administrations economic plan, and 1 trillion more in Economic Growth than the president s plan. Thats not coming from a liberal think tank. Thats coming from moodys. Heres how my plan works. Im going to raise taxes on people only making over 400,000. Anyone making less than 400,000 a year wont pay a penny more. Im going to ask the very big corporations, the fortune 500 and the wealthy, to pay their fair share for a change. That means raising the Corporate Tax rate, which was in the mid 30 s and is now at 20 back to 28 . That means making sure that no big company gets away with paying zero taxes, as 91 fortune 500 companies do today. Making billions of dollars. Zero taxes. How many of you paid zero taxes . It means making sure that the wealthiest americans dont get to pay the lower tax rate because they are making money on their investments, but they pay at the same rate that they pay for their salary. These changes in the tax code will raise the money that will allow me to invest in working people and growing the middle class, which when i announced i was running, i said thats the reason, to rebuild the backbone of this country. Hardworking folks in the middle class. Were going to invest in creating millions of goodpaying jobs, union jobs. And this is, by the way, my plan has been thoroughly analyzed by a whole bunch of folks. Take infrastructure. Building roads, bridges, highways, ports, airports will put millions of people to work in goodpaying union jobs and create the foundation for growth in this country. Clean energy, just upgrading 4 million buildings and weatherizing two million homes will create at least one million goodpaying jobs. Leading the world on electric vehicles and building 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations on the highways will create 1 million new auto jobs here in this state. The manufacturing and technology in those areas, making sure, making sure that future is made in america, made in michigan, with good union jobs. You know, the federal government spends 600 billion a year, of your tax dollars, to purchase everything from military equipment to steel to cars to trucks to federal fleets. Thats 600 billion. When im president , were going to make sure we finally make good on the commitment made a long time ago that these products, all these contracts that the president of the United States and the federal government can award, make sure those products were made by americans in america. Making sure that thats done. Its estimated that will create 5 million new manufacturing jobs and technology jobs. For Small Businesses were going to make sure Small Businesses come out on the other side of this terrible circumstance, with access to capital and the ability to deal with the debts that have been accumulated during this pandemic. And well make investments to increase incomes as well. 15 minimum wage. No one, no one should be in the position to have to work two jobs just to get above the poverty line. Were going to bring back jobs to america from overseas. And direct billions of dollars in revitalization funds and competitive grants to help communities like those in western michigan compete for new business startups. For essential workers, were not just going to praise you. Were going to pay you a good wage, to ensure you have a strong benefit. Were going to ease the burden of the major cost in your life, health care. Well build on the Affordable Care act through a new Health Insurance option. A notforprofit public option which will give private insurers a real competitor. Well increase subsidies for your premiums so theyre lower, so you can afford the plans with lower deductions and lower outofpocket expenses. It will cost that plan alone will cost over 700 billion over 10 years. But its paid for by eliminating those tax cuts. For a 40yearold making 50,000 a year, your monthly premium will go down by onethird. Well take on the pharmaceutical companies with a plan that slashes the cost of prescription drugs up to 60 . Medicare will be able to negotiate prices for drugs. Fundamentally lowering those prices. And child care, a lot of you are dealing with that now. How do you go to work if you have work and take care of your kids, or an aging relative thats in trouble . Were going to make highquality child care affordable and accessible. Every 3yearold and 4yearold will have access to free quality preschool. Were going to make sure that low and middle income families will never have to pay more than 7 of their income for caring for a young child. And education beyond high school. Were going to make sure that Fouryear College tuitions of a State University is tuitionfree for any family making less than 125,000. Community college will be free and programs for training will be free as well. If you buy your first home, youll have a 15,000 help to get there. These are all things that people have been talking about for a while. Were going to protect Social Security, increase the benefits for millions of seniors. The president s talking about giving eliminating the withholding tax. Well, thats wonderful, except for one thing. The actuary of Social Security said if that plan goes through, Social Security will be bankrupt by 2023. Folks, i promise you, we can do this. Let me close by saying this. I know, i know a lot of people around here are tired of feeling overlooked and disrespected. I get that. The people i met this week taking a train through northeastern ohio and western pennsylvania, people like the dedicated Elementary School teacher from lordstown, ohio, whose husband, when lordstown shut down, accepted a transfer, kentucky, eight hours away. Each direction. In order to be able to keep his health care and his pension after the g. M. Plant closed. Folks who worry about health care, will the Affordable Care act still be there for them . Why, why, they ask, will i be the 100 million americans who could lose the protection for preexisting conditions like asthma and diabetes . Where once again women will be able to be charged a higher premium simply because theyre a woman . Where insurers no longer have to allow you to be able to keep your kids on a Health Care Plan until age 26 . What will happen to your medicare benefits, your Social Security . Will they still be there when you retire . I am asked many times in recent years, how do we get to the place where the people who stock our shelves, pack our food, teach our kids, like my family, take care of my wife, take care of our sick, who race into burning buildings and pick up the garbage off our streets, who did, how did we get to the place where yall dont think we see you anymore . Or hear them . And most importantly, respect them . That has to change. I know it can. I come from those neighborhoods. We can get this pandemic under control so we can get our economy working again for everyone. But this cannot be a partisan moment. It must be an american moment. We have to come together as a nation. Im running as a democrat. But i am will run and govern as an american president. Whether you voted for me or against me, i will represent you. And those who see each other as fellow americans who just dont live in red states or blue states, but who live in and love the United States of america, thats who we are. And theres never been a single solitary thing americas been unable to do. Think of this. Not once. Not a single thing weve not been able to overcome when weve done it together. So lets get the heck up. Remember who in gods name we are. This is the United States of america. Theres nothing beyond our capacity. I want to say god bless you, may god protect the first family and every family thats dealing with this virus, and may god protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] incumbent republican senator Lindsey Graham and democratic challenger Jamie Harrison participate in the televised South Carolina u. S. Senate debate tonight. The first time the candidates will meet facetoface. Live coverage begins at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Who will control congress in january . Stay informed on all of the competitive congressional races leading up to election day with cspans campaign 2020 coverage. Watch the candidates debate and election reports results on cspan. Watch online at cspan. Org or listen on the free cspan radio app. Cspan, your an update on the president and first lady testing positive for coronavirus. Brooking institution talks about their diagnosis and plans for