President Joe Biden is giving his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. The speech starts at 9 p.m.
Biden is expected to speak about several of his administration's priorities that are stalled in the Senate, including voting rights legislation and the Build Back Better infrastructure bill.
He will also address Russia's ongoing invasion into Ukraine, inflation and other challenges facing the nation.
Here's a transcript of Biden's speech released by the White House ahead of the State of the Union. USA TODAY will be publishing a live transcript of Biden's address, updating it periodically as he speaks:
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Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President, our First Lady and Second Gentleman. Members of Congress and the Cabinet. Justices of the Supreme Court. My fellow Americans.
Last year COVID-19 kept us apart. This year we're finally together again.
Tonight, we meet as Democrats, Republicans, Independents. But most importantly as Americans. With a duty to one another, to America, to the American people to the Constitution and with an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny.
Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the very foundations of the free world thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated.
He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead, he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined.
He met the Ukrainian people.
From President Zelenskyy to every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination, literally inspires the world.
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Groups of citizens blocking tanks with their bodies. Everyone from students to retirees to teachers turned soldiers defending their homeland.
And in this struggle, President Zelenskyy said in his speech to the European Parliament “Light will win over darkness.” The Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States (Oksana Markarova) is here tonight sitting with the first lady.
Let each of us, if you’re able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to the world. To Ukraine.
We, the United States of America stand with the Ukrainian people. Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving.
And the cost, the threats to the America, and America, to the world keeps rising.
That’s why the NATO Alliance was created, to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War 2.
The United States is a member along with 29 other nations. It matters. American diplomacy matters. American resolve matters.
Putin’s latest attack on Ukraine was premeditated and totally unprovoked. He rejected repeated – repeated – efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And he thought he could divide us at home, in this chamber and this nation. He thought he could divide us in Europe as well. But Putin was wrong. We are ready. We are united, and that’s what we did. We stayed united.
We prepared extensively and carefully.
We spent months building coalitions of other freedom-loving nations in Europe and the Americas, from the Americas to Asia and African continents to confront Putin.
Like many of you, I spent countless hours unifying our European allies. We shared with the world in advance what we knew Putin was planning and precisely how he would try to falsify and justify his aggression.
We countered Russia’s lies with the truth, and now that he has acted, the free world is holding him accountable, along with twenty-seven members of the European Union including France, Germany, Italy, as well as countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and many others – even Switzerland –are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been.
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Together, along with our allies, we are right now enforcing powerful economic sanctions. We’re cutting off Russia’s largest banks from the international financial system. Preventing Russia’s central bank from defending the Russian Ruble, making Putin’s $630 Billion “war fund” worthless.
We’re choking Russia’s access, we’re choking Russia’s access to technology that will sap its economic strength and weaken its military for years to come.
Tonight I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime no more. I mean it.
The United States Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of the Russian oligarchs.
We are joining with European allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets. We’re coming for your ill-begotten gains.
And tonight I’m announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights – further isolating Russia – and adding an additional squeeze on their economy. He has no idea what’s coming.
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