Associated Press is checking President Joe Biden’s facts First State of the Union address When he is working on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a deadlocked domestic agenda, and a protracted COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the claims we have examined:
COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection)
BIDEN: “Serious cases have fallen to a level not seen since July last year.”
Fact: Biden exaggerated the improvement and omitted the statistics that remain as anxious markers of tolls from COVID-19.
Hospitalizations have certainly declined since last summer, but deaths are still high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID tracker shows 289 deaths on July 1, 2021. Last Monday, the CDC tracker reported 1,985 deaths.
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economic
Biden: “The pandemic has also disrupted the global supply chain … look at last year’s cars. One-third of all inflation came from car sales. People want to buy We didn’t have enough semiconductors to make every car. And what do you guess? Car prices have risen significantly … and we have a choice. One way to fight inflation Is to lower wages and make Americans poor. I think there is a better idea to fight inflation. Lower costs, not wages. People, it’s more cars and semiconductors in America Means to make. More infrastructure and innovation in the United States. More products move faster and cheaper in the United States … Let’s make it in the United States rather than relying on foreign supply chains. “
Fact: It is doubtful to suggest that the more domestic manufacturing, the less inflation.
Products manufactured abroad, especially in countries such as China and Mexico where wages are low, are generally cheaper than products made in the United States.
Biden also places too much emphasis on foreign supply chain disruptions as the worst source of inflation in 40 years. These issues were certainly the main drivers of costs, but other areas, such as rent and restaurant meals, that reflect the rapid economic and wage growth over the past year, rather than global supply bottlenecks. Inflation is becoming more and more apparent. .. These trends can continue to push prices up as the supply chain recovers.
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Electric car
BIDEN is driving the $ 1 trillion infrastructure law, saying: We are now talking about a decade of infrastructure. … build a nationwide network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations. “
Fact: Not so fast.
Bipartisan legislation approved by Congress ends up Offers only half of $ 15 billion Biden envisioned fulfilling its campaign promise of 500,000 charging stations by 2030.
Biden’s Build Back Better proposal aimed to fill the gap by adding billions of dollars to pay for charging stations.But Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., December The bill declared dead in its current form Because of the cost.
Now, government officials say the Infrastructure Act will help “pave” the way to up to 500,000 charging outlets by 2030. This is different from a charging station that may have multiple outlets. They say private investment may help fill the gap.Currently, there are over 100,000 EV dealers in the United States.
Transport Bureau Plan Request states to build a nationwide network of EV charging stations with new or upgraded ones placed every 50 miles along the interstate highway. Over five years, $ 5 billion in federal funding relies on cooperation from the vast rural community of the United States, which is usually unlikely to own an EV due to its high price.
The state plans to start construction as early as autumn.
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Associated Press writers Christopher Lugabar, Ricardo Alonso Zardibar, Hope Yen, and Calvin Woodward contributed to this report.
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Editor’s Note — See the credibility of politicians’ claims.
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