Previews of Joe Biden and Tim Scott Speeches Released, Scott: “Our Best Future Won’t Come from Washington Schemes or Socialist Dreams”

 The White House and Republicans released preview excerpts of the dueling speeches being given Wednesday night by Joe Biden and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). Biden will speak before an invitation only joint session of Congress of a combined 200 Senators and Representatives at 9 p.m. EDT. Scott will follow.

Biden excerpt:

As I stand here tonight, we are just one day shy of the 100th day of my administration.

100 days since I took the oath of office—lifted my hand off our family Bible—and inherited a nation in crisis. The worst pandemic in a century. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.

Now—after just 100 days—I can report to the nation: America is on the move again. Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength.

—

Now, I know some of you at home wonder whether these jobs are for you. You feel left behind and forgotten in an economy that’s rapidly changing. Let me speak directly to you.

Independent experts estimate the American Jobs Plan will add millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic growth for years to come. These are good-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced. Nearly 90% of the infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan don’t require a college degree. 75% don’t require an associate’s degree.

The Americans Jobs Plan is a blue-collar blueprint to build America.

And, it recognizes something I’ve always said: Wall Street didn’t build this country. The middle class built this country. And unions built the middle class.

We have to prove democracy still works. That our government still works—and can deliver for the people.

In our first 100 days together, we have acted to restore the people’s faith in our democracy to deliver.

We’re vaccinating the nation. We’re creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. We’re delivering real results people can see and feel in their own lives. Opening the doors of opportunity. Guaranteeing fairness and justice.

Scott excerpt:

“Locking vulnerable kids out of the classroom is locking adults out of their future,” he will say, according to the excerpts, “Our public schools should have reopened months ago. Other countries did. Private and religious schools did. Science has shown for months that schools are safe.

But too often, powerful grown-ups set science aside. And kids like me were left behind.

The clearest case for school choice in our lifetimes.

[…] 

This should be a joyful springtime for our nation.

This Administration inherited a tide that had already turned. The coronavirus is on the run!

Thanks to Operation Warp Speed and the Trump Administration, our country is flooded with safe and effective vaccines. Thanks to our bipartisan work last year, job openings are rebounding.

So why do we feel so divided and anxious?

A nation with so much cause for hope should not feel so heavy-laden.

[…]

Just before COVID, we had the most inclusive economy in my lifetime. The lowest unemployment ever recorded for African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. The lowest for women in nearly 70 years. Wages were growing faster for the bottom 25% than the top 25%.

That happened because Republicans focused on expanding opportunity for all Americans.

We passed Opportunity Zones, criminal justice reform, and permanent funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities for the first time ever. We fought the drug epidemic, rebuilt our military, and cut taxes for working families and single moms like mine.

Our best future won’t come from Washington schemes or socialist dreams. It will come from you — the American people.

Live stream of Scott’s speech:

Scott’s staff released several video Wednesday showing them and Scott to be loose and confident before his big address.